


Awakening

by Kuro_tamashi



Category: Mass Effect, Naruto
Genre: Casual Sex, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Science Fiction, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-26
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-05-23 09:42:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 124,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6112564
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuro_tamashi/pseuds/Kuro_tamashi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last of his kind, he lost everything, he thought he had won, but he was wrong. Now he only has one reason to live, kill all those who snatched everything from him. But he will do so with the help of someone, a woman who earned his respect. Follow this adventure where Naruto will be the key piece for the galaxy win against the Reapers [God-Like Naruto]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

 

Organic being talking. "Hello"

Organic being thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Jutsus. _"Mokuton no Jutsu!"_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

* * *

** Prologue **

Somewhere in the Elemental Nations.

In a large dimly lit room, there was a great roundtable with several seats around it, and on said seats there were several people. Everyone seemed to be significant and influential people and appeared to have looks of despair, fear, confusion, and many other sad feelings on their faces, as they looked at the only person that they believed who could save them.

Uzumaki Naruto, the supreme leader of the Elemental Nations; and the only person who could defeat hundreds of Reapers so far. "Naruto-sama, what are we going to do? Those things are indestructible; nothing we do is harmful to them. You and Kurama-sama are the only ones who can save us." One of the men who was there whispered.

Many at this began to whisper and to encourage their leader to go and kill all the invaders. "Besides, those things turn our allies into more of those things! And they are also quite resilient, please Naruto-sama, finish them all." Now a woman said.

Naruto, who now was around 50 years old, but still retained his 20 years appearance; looked at everyone in the room, "I understand what you're saying, and believe me that what I most want is to kill them all. They have already killed all my precious ones, many turned into those husks and those who have been lucky, have died in battle. But even if I wish it, I can't do it; there are hundreds of Reapers and thousands of their husks. I can't defeat all of them, not even with the ten tails of Kurama. Remember that I'm a mere mortal, and when I transform myself into Kurama, I attract a lot of attention; and fighting a dozen is hard enough, but a battalion of them at the same time is almost suicide. This war has been long enough; seven years is a long time."

Hearing the words of their leader the people in the room could not help being saddened. "So... Is this all? Will we just let them kill us or even worse, become one of them?" Asked another person.

Naruto upon hearing this looked at him and shook his head. "No, there is an alternative. I didn't use it because that would also mean our annihilation. I don't want to use this, but there is no other viable alternative. The reason I decided that the meeting had to be carried out in this place was this, today we will defeat the Reapers... but it will also be the end of all of us. I will use the Apple's Discharge to kill them all. But none of us will survive the attack; we all will die. But of course, I shall put this to a vote, you are the representatives of each front of the resistance that still stands, you are voting for them. "

Naruto then paused and looked at the expressions of each person who was in the room; some of them had looks of acceptance while others had looks of denial.

Naruto upon seeing these expressions asked. "What would you prefer? Become one of them, or die knowing that we could kill those bastards. What do you prefer? Now raise your hands those who agree on using the Apple to kill them."

Upon saying this, several people raised their hands, while some others were still fearful for this option, but as Naruto had said, it was preferable than turning into one of those things. So after a few seconds, all voted for using Naruto's solution.

"Well, the decision is made, now..." Nonetheless, Naruto stopped there. The reason? They all heard a mighty horn, the horn used by the Reapers when they were close.

Everyone in the room looked at each other while nodding, just to see the ceiling above them breaking into pieces.

Then they saw that a huge leg-metal tentacle broke through the roof, destroying the room's table. "Quickly! Get out of here! I will restrain that thing until I can get everything ready. Stay away from here as much as you can! Inform to those who are in the camp about what has happened here!" Naruto ordered, shouting to the people who were in the room that were standing up and wiping the dust from their clothes, then they nodded at the order of their leader.

Naruto then made a cross with his fingers and shouted. _"Mokuton Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique)!" _ Instantly three wooden clones appeared from Naruto, all helping to get those people out.

Once outside, the wood clones looked at each other before nodding. They smiled and immediately they began to surround themselves with a chakra that was black and it started to grow and grow until it had taken the shape and size of an enormous fox with ten black tails and with several red lines around its body.

The fox was as tall as the Reaper, which was about 180 meters high. All the wooden clones had already turned into Kurama, as they all looked at one of the thousands of machines that were invading their planet.

Quickly one of them went on the attack because he realized that the Reaper started charging its most lethal weapon, the gun that was in its magnetohydrodynamic spinal.

The Reaper quickly fired the powerful laser beam at the Beast that tried to attack it, dissipating him instantly, but another of the clones had already moved to its right, clawing it and going through its kinetic shields without any problems. Leaving deep scratch marks on its head.

The Reaper quickly turned around to destroy that mighty beast, while attempting to reload its beam. Nonetheless, the clone did not allow it as he quickly enveloped it with his tails and claws, to squeeze the Reaper tightly, which was moving its legs as much as it could, to try to free itself from the pressure that Kurama was exerting.

Nonetheless, the poor Reaper could do nothing, and it ended up destroyed by the pressure of the tails that the beast had used.

The clone upon realizing this removed his tails quickly from the Reaper before finishing his Bijū Mode as he approached his companion who had also ended his transformation.

"Those bastards are tough, but if they are alone, they are very easy to destroy." The clone that had done nothing stated smiling; the other one smiled as well. Nevertheless, the smile changed when they heard multiple horns coming from the sky.

They looked up expecting the worst. The clouds completely covered the sky, but suddenly all the clouds cleared, revealing not one or two Reapers, but more than sixty. And all of them were of Sovereign-class, slowly descending from the sky, while their horns sounded stronger than before.

The people who had come to the meeting seeing this amount of the machines could not help but panic. They never before had seen so many at once; maybe they had found out of Naruto's plan to destroy them. But that could not be possible, they thought.

Then they saw that their great leader transformed again while the two clones began to create huge balls of chakra in front of their snouts to destroy as many Reapers as possible.

Everyone after seeing this encouraged Naruto, hoping that that amount of chakra could be enough to kill them all.

Naruto's clones who were within the cloak of black chakra of Kurama began to increase the size of the Bijudama significantly before joining them, turning it into a huge ball, which created a large shadow in several yards around.

The Reapers after seeing the attack broke their ranks quickly, to avoid the devastating attack. But even though they were very advanced machines, they were not fast enough to dodge the attack that many of them had witnessed. Nonetheless, this was much more massive, and hence much more powerful than those attacks that they had already seen.

The clones then fired the Bijudama, which arrived at high-speed to the Reaper's location, creating a massive shockwave in the air that shook the earth and caused great gusts of wind, disintegrating over 40 Reapers in its way. Not even their kinetic barriers at their maximum power could do anything to resist such an attack.

The clones then looked at each other, as the surviving Reapers landed. "Ha! It seems that boss is about to send them to hell." Stated one of the clones looking towards his companion, who smiled while a Chakra claw came out of his stomach, pointing it at the Reapers who were charging their cannons.

The clone then raised the middle finger of his claw, and although these machines did not seem to be upset about anything, the clone could tell that they were angry because everyone started honking their horns in a different way than they used to do, and they fired their cannons. Nevertheless, the clone dodged the beams barely, as he began to laugh aloud along with the other clone, who had no time to avoid, because of the laughter, the beams that approached him.

The other clone seeing this laughed even harder just to hear a mighty rumble behind him. The clone looked back, like all the Reapers who had landed. But upon seeing what came out of the building in front of them, which was a huge castle. They gave a jump to return to the air, but it was too late for them.

"Yes! That's it; you damn bastards! It will be your end! Hahahaha." The clone laughed as he shot some tiny Bijudamas at the Reapers who began to flee. They were not powerful attacks; rather they were attacked to annoy them and slow their escape down.

A few minutes earlier, in the castle's basement, Naruto was finishing the last thing he needed to have everything ready. "This amount of Chakra will be enough," Naruto said, clenching his fists. "I wish there had been an alternative; I wish I could have saved them," Naruto whispered, thinking about his dead wives, sons and old friends.

 **"It was a pleasure to meet you, boy. I don't know if I will disappear forever along with you, or if I'll be reborn after several years. But let me tell you that you're the human with most guts, courage and character I've ever seen. We've had a great life; we had done everything we had wanted before these bastards arrived. You surpassed everyone; you are the strongest.  Hell, even more powerful than my father, but we never imagined that we could have such enemies. So you shouldn't regret, you couldn't save everyone even if you wanted it. Now, kill them once and for all, let them know that they should never have invaded this planet." **Kurama stated in Naruto's mind, who upon hearing this stood up before approaching the big machine in front of him.

The machine was connected to several large and thick pipes, ranging in all directions of the basement where he was. He walked a bit before stopping in front of the machine, which was cylindrical in shape and went from the basement to the ceiling.

And right in the middle of the machine was a small door. Naruto opened it, and he made the Apple of Eden appear in his right hand. He put the sphere into the compartment and closed the small little door again.

"I charged enough Chakra so that the Discharge wraps the entire planet, and reach the space to destroy those who are up there," Naruto said again, just as he heard a mighty rumble while all the pipes that were in the room began to whistle and start to glow to a golden color.

Then, on the roof of the castle, a black metal stake of about 15 meters in circumference with an elongated tip at the end began to emerge.

As the thing that emerged from the ceiling began to glow, the glow started to rise and focus on the tip, creating a small ball of light that increasingly grew. Then it slowly came off from there, slowly covering the castle, as it as it expanded itself more and more, increasing the speed of the expansion by each passing second.

In the basement, Naruto saw the light beam coming, he just closed his eyes waiting for his end, and everything went dark.

Somewhere in outer space – Around a hundred thousand years later.

In a spaceship, there was a woman of about 30 years old with long blonde hair, thin lips, and small scars on her face. She had a white complexion, gray armor, but with a drawing of a red dragon on the chest, which extended to the left shoulder of her armor.

This woman was 'the' Commander Shepard, she had just returned from a reconnaissance mission in a human colony where all its population had disappeared. She stood on a platform, and something instantly surrounded her, analyzing her, taking her shape, and projecting it elsewhere.

Her image was projected to where a man was, who was sitting in a chair with crossed legs and smoking a cigarette.

The man spoke after seeing Shepard projected before him. "Shepard. Good job on Freedom's Progress. The Quarians forwarded their findings from Veetor's debriefing. No new data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history." The Illusive Man said as he moved his hands, thinking about an incident that involved the Quarians and Cerberus a few years ago.

But then he continued. "You and I have different methods, but I can't argue with your results." The Illusive Man finished.

Shepard replied. "You ever think about playing nice once in a while?" She asked.

The Illusive man replied. "Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat. But more importantly, you confirmed the Collectors are behind the abductions."

Shepard upon hearing this last crossed her arms as she asked. "Why do I get the feeling you knew about them already?"

"I had my suspicions but needed proof. The collectors are enigmatic at best. They periodically travel to the Terminus Systems looking to gather seemingly unimportant items or specimens, usually in exchange for their technology. When the transactions are complete, they disappear as quickly as they appeared, back beyond the unmapped Omega 4 relay. Until now, we've no evidence of direct attacks by the Collectors." The Illusive Man replied as he puffed on his cigarette.

Shepard nodded and said. "The Collectors are definitely a human enemy, but how do we know there's a connection to the Reapers?" She asked.

The Illusive Man at the question crossed the other leg while placing the ashes of his cigarette in the ashtray beside him. "Their focus shifted to humanity only after you and the human fleet destroyed the Sovereign. The abductions are related, even if the Alliance and the Council refuse to believe it. I won't wait until the Reapers are on the march. We need to take the initiative." The Illusive Man stated, moving a little from his seat.

Shepard when hearing this stood firm while carrying her hands to her back. "If this is a war I'll need an army or a really good team," Shepard replied.

"I've already compiled a list of soldiers, scientists, and mercenaries. You'll get dossiers on the best of them." The Illusive Man replied as an orange screen appeared on his left, with several names. Nevertheless, he continued. "Finding and convincing them to work with you could be difficult, but you're a natural leader. I'll continue to track the Collectors. When they make their next appearance, I'll notify you and your team. Be ready."

Shepard at this raised an eyebrow and asked. "Miranda and Jacob aren't enough? How many do you need to keep me in check?" She asked.

"I've made it clear to Miranda and Jacob that you're in charge. You decide who joins your squad. Everyone else on this list was chosen for this particular mission. They are the best." The Illusive Man replied.

"I'll do the best I can with what you've given me," Shepard added.

"I'm sure you will, but before you go three things." He then paused to look directly into the eyes of the projection of Shepard. "First, head to Omega and find Mordin Solus. He's a brilliant salarian scientist. Our intelligence suggests he may know how to counter the Collector's paralyzing seeker swarms."

"I have not even started, and you're already giving me orders?" Shepard asked, crossing her arms. The Illusive Man just looked at her and answered. "I'm giving you an indication; what you do with it is up to you. I'm sure you'll make the right decision." He replied.

Shepard nodded pleased and stopped crossing her arms to ask. "All right, what are the other things?"

The Illusive Man at this took a drag on his cigarette as he rose up from his seat; then he turned his back to Shepard as he looked towards the big sun that was in front of him. "Our network found out that some years ago a Mass Relay suddenly appeared near the Shrike Abyss."

Shepard after hearing that raised an eyebrow in confusion and asked. "What's so odd about it? It surely is another Mass Relay for use as a connection to the others Mass Relays of the Milky Way."

The Illusive Man shook his head and replied. "You're wrong; this Mass Relay is not connected to any other Mass Relay that we know. Indeed, it's not connected to this galaxy, but to an unknown," He answered.

This statement surprised Shepard. "To an unknown you said? But what's so important? Explain yourself." Shepard asked.

The Illusive Man turned around again before sitting back in his chair. "That Mass Relay is connected to an unknown Galaxy, but as you know, the Mass Relays connect to other Stellar Systems. However, that Stellar System that is connected to that Relay is not very big. It has a single planet, and the Relay it's only five hundred thousand kilometers away from the planet."

"You know very well that entering to an unknown Mass Relay can be a problem, remember the Rachni," Shepard replied.

"You're right, but Cerberus would not risk contacting a species that could threaten the human race. This planet seems uninhabited, but this is where the interesting part comes." The Illusive Man replied.

Shepard raised an intrigued eyebrow but remained silent. "We have detected that there is a Reaper signal on this planet. It's quite old, and the signal seems to disappear, I have tried to send some of my scouts, but something is surrounding that world. We don't know what it is, but it's an unknown element. It's like a protective barrier that completely covers the planet. Much more powerful than any kinetic barrier that we know. And passing through it is not straightforward, but a ship equipped enough might be able to get through. "

"A barrier covering an entire planet? That's strange. How old do you estimate the Reaper signal is?" Shepard asked.

The Illusive Man took another drag of his cigarette before puffing out the smoke. "Around a hundred thousand years old," He replied.

Shepard hearing this information led her fingers on her chin as she thought. "A hundred thousand years... I think it's most likely that the planet you are speaking about was one of the planets that were attacked at a previous cycle. If you say that it's 100,000 years old, then the civilization that lived there is older than the Protheans. Surely, the beings of that planet left some kind of help so that future generations can fight the Reapers. Maybe that Reaper signal that you speak of has much to do." Shepard expressed after several seconds of thinking.

The Illusive Man gave a half-smile and said. "Well, you know what you have to do, Shepard. Head to that planet and investigate that signal. If you find anything that could help in the fight against the Reapers. It is best that you bring that with you, so we can analyze it and create a weapon that can help us to defeat them. "

"Then I'll need a ship to cross the planet. I can't use just any old one." Shepard added.

"Well. You don't need to worry about it; your request has to do with the last point. I've found a pilot I think you might like. I hear he's one of the best. Someone you can trust." Then a blue screen appeared in front of the Illusive Man, who touched something on that screen and finished the communication with the Commander.

Shepard then saw that the orange dome that had surrounded her started to go down, just to hear the voice of an old acquaintance. "Hey Commander, just like old times, huh?" Someone asked her.

Shepard smiled at the voice as she turned around. "Joker…" she said with a smile as she approached her former pilot to shake hands with him. Then they began to climb the stairs to leave the Communications Room.

"I can't believe it's you, Joker." Shepard stated as she followed Joker somewhere, she did not know where they were going, Joker only said to follow him.

Joker smiled at this and replied as he looked back. "Look who's talking. I saw you get spaced." Joker replied as he turned a corner.

"I just had a lot of luck. But how did you get here?" Shepard asked Joker who replied. "It all fell apart without you, Commander. Everything you stirred up, the Council just wanted it gone. The team was broken up, records sealed, and I was grounded. The Alliance took away the only thing that mattered to me. Hell yeah, I joined Cerberus." Joker stated as he approached their destination.

** The Normandy Reborn - Soundtrack **

Shepard then looked at him questioningly and asked. "You really trust the Illusive Man?"

Joker smiled as he looked through a window, which was a big spatial hangar, not brightly lit. "Ha! I don't trust anyone who makes more than I do. But they aren't all bad. Saved your life. Let me fly. And there's this..." Joker said with a smile as he looked into the Hangar, just like Shepard

"They only told me last night." Then the lights of the Hangar began to light up slowly, revealing an elongated ship with two propellers of the same shape on each side, but the most remarkable thing was that there were the inscription "SR2" in several places.

"It's good to be home, huh Commander?" Joker asked.

"I guess we'll have to give her a name," Shepard replied, just to get a smile from Joker while they headed to the hangar and boarded the Normandy SR-2, and once in there go to some point of infinity at full speed.

Within the Normandy.

Once Shepard thoroughly inspected her new ship, she walked towards the Command deck where Miranda and Jacob were. "Welcome to the new Normandy, Commander," Jacob said, a man with a dark complexion, a mustache, and a beard on his chin. He wore a black Cerberus uniform.

Shepard at this took a few more steps to enter the Command deck, there Miranda said. "I've looked over the dossiers; I'd strongly recommend starting by acquiring Mordin Solus, the salarian professor on Omega. We know the Collectors use some type of advanced technology to immobilize their victims. We'll need him to develop a countermeasure to protect us." Miranda stated. She was a stunning woman with long black hair and delicate facial expressions.

Upon hearing this, Shepard nodded. "You're right. Without that countermeasure, we'll be helpless if we ever run into the Collectors." Just after saying those words, everyone could hear a robotic voice saying. **"Acquiring Professor Solus seems like the most logical place to start, but I strongly recommend to go and investigate that Reaper signal."**

"Who are you?" Shepard asked while looking at the ceiling of the ship. Upon saying that, on the table that was behind Shepard, a small projection appeared, it had the shape of a ball with a neck, it was entirely light blue.

 **"I'm the Normandy's artificial intelligence. The crew likes to refer to me as EDI."** The AI answered.

"Hmm. Okay, but why do you think we should do that first?" Shepard asked.

EDI replied monotonously. **"According to the report of the Illusive Man, the Reaper signal decreases by every passing second, so it is best to investigate it before it is too late, Commander."** Then EDI disappeared again.

"Commander, we're done with the preparations for the launch. Whenever you want, select a destination on the Galaxy Map in the CIC, and I will trace the course. We've already added the coordinates of the Mass Relay that appeared near the Shrike Abyss, if you want, we could go there right now. Trace your course to Shrike and we'll go to that Relay in the old fashioned way. I hope you have enough money to buy fuel, Commander." Joker joked by the speakers.

Shepard smiled and walked towards the Galaxy Map. "Well, we'll go there immediately. Let's see what we get on that planet. Hopefully, you can get through that barrier, Joker."

"No need to say it, Commander. My baby and I will go through the 'impenetrable' barrier without any problem." Joker answered.

Shepard nodded and ordered everyone to prepare themselves, so they did and she went to the galaxy map to select their destination. Once the ship was close to the Mass Relay of the system in which they were now, Joker moved closer, and the Element Zero of the core wrapped the Normandy, sending them at higher speeds than light towards the Shrike Abyss.

Once there, Joker manually steered the ship to the new Mass Relay. It took them several hours, but upon arrival, it did the same as first. They almost instantly arrived at their new location. Nobody knew where they were. It was as if this galaxy had appeared out of nowhere since there would have been records of it otherwise.

The other reason they did not know where they were was because something was blocking the coordinate systems of the Normandy. However, the only thing that mattered to Shepard was the Reaper signal. She did not care to know in which galaxy they were; the only important thing was to see what the signal was, and bring it with them if it could help them in the fight against the Reapers.

Shepard then went to the cockpit where Joker was discussing with the ship's AI. "How long before we get there?" Shepard asked.

Joker upon hearing this stopped discussing and looked back to see Shepard. "In a few minutes, the planet is not far away from the Relay." He paused and pressed a button on the dash. "This is your pilot speaking; I suggest everyone hold on because we are about to have a pretty bumpy ride."

Shepard upon hearing this quickly held herself on something in the cabin, just to see through the cabin's window the planet that the Illusive Man had said, besides the barrier that covered the entire planet, it certainly was impressive.

Shepard upon seeing this with her own eyes thought that that barrier was from the ancient inhabitants of the planet and that they had left the dark blue barrier to protect whatever it was in there. Perhaps a weapon powerful enough to destroy the Reapers. Also, there were several remains of ancient ships, very, very old around the planet.

 **"Kinetic Shields to the maximum."** Shepard heard EDI say. They then were in front of the planet, more specifically, the Barrier that surrounded it.

Joker didn't wait and advanced until the tip of the ship touched the barrier, instantly, they realized that everything inside the ship began to shake violently, and everyone did their best not to fall to the floor due to the shaking.

 **"Kinetic Shields at 60% and decreasing rapidly."** EDI spoke again and Joker at this growled and increased the ship's speed, but it was hard, it was as if a wall of gum had been slowing them down.

"What will happen when we run out of Shields?" Shepard asked EDI, who answered. **"The most likely outcome is that we will end up like the other ships that tried to break through the barrier."**

Shepard nodded, and sweat fell from her brow when she heard EDI say that the Shields were at 22%.

"Come on, come on, baby. I don't wanna lose you again." Joker said trying to push further the speed of the Normandy, which was beginning to get almost through the barrier. It was quite thick and that was the reason that they were having problems.

 **"Shields at 5%. Redirecting the core energy to the shields."** EDI said again as she tried to give some power to the shields.

Everybody in the ship began to feel that the temperature increased slowly, making everyone starts to sweat heavily; but it has been only for a few moments since the temperature returned to normal. **"Shields recharged to 45%,"** EDI said, causing a momentary sigh of relief on the crew

"Joker, hurry up, I don't think EDI can do that again," Shepard said, wiping the sweat from her forehead.

Joker at this growled loudly. "GRRR, almost there, almost there... Just a few meters..." He said between grunts, the ship was still shaking inside, and everyone was still holding on to keep from falling.

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGH!" Joker growled one last time before smiling, realizing that the shaking stopped. "Hehehe. Done, Commander. I told you that my baby could do it." Joker stated with a smile.

Shepard smiled back as she approached Joker to slap on his shoulder. "Good job, Joker. Now enter its atmosphere and land near ..." But Shepard has stopped since an alarm sounded all over the ship while red lights flashed on and off.

All then felt a tremor inside the ship, which made many to hold on again to keep from falling. "What happened, Joker? I thought we already got through the barrier." Shepard asked looking to Joker, who was pressing several buttons on the board in front of him.

"I-I don't know; nothing is working. None of the controls are responding." Joker replied trying to regain the control of the ship.

EDI didn't know what was happening either, so she had decided to remain silent. But then EDI realized that something pulled the ship strongly towards the land, and just when she was about to inform them on this, she realized that all those standing on the ship had fallen to the floor, and those who were sitting, showed signs of feeling a lot of pressure surrounding them.

"What the hell is happening?!" Shepard shouted, due to the enormous pressure she felt surrounding her, as she tried to get up from the ship's floor. Joker also attempted to get up from his seat, but he was also feeling the same. "I... don't… know! Argh. It seems that something is pulling us rapidly towards the land. Hold on! It won't be a soft landing!" Joker shouted with signs of pain on his face.

Maybe if they had not received space training, it was most likely that the entire crew would be dead right now due to the pressure.

 **"Maybe the planet's gravity is higher than we thought."** EDI indicated, but not even she knew what was happening because she could not analyze the planet even though she tried, something was blocking the analysis systems of the Normandy. It was as if someone had been preventing this planet from being analyzed.

Upon entering the planet's atmosphere, Joker noticed that purple clouds covered everything, no land was visible.

The Normandy continued falling, reaching the clouds, which flashed upon realizing the Normandy's presence.

Now Shepard was very nervous, she had seen many things in her life as a soldier of the Alliance, and she knew that something or someone was on this planet, and it was not happy with their visit. She was not stupid. It would be best investigating that signal quickly and leave the planet to avoid casualties.

Shepard then surrounded herself with her biotic cloak, making an extraordinary effort to stand up, and she managed to do it. She got to her feet, but with difficulty. Then she slowly approached Joker to look through the window.

She only saw purple clouds as they descended, it seemed that there was no end. Besides, there were a significant amount of lightning around the place. However, after several minutes, they could descend the endless clouds, just to see the land.

Joker looked with a great effort toward his Commander, who nodded as she tried to sit in the seat next to him. Nevertheless, before she could, she felt that everything returned to normal.

Joker didn't wait for any second and quickly retook the Normandy's controls to stabilize her and decrease the speed of descent before landing without any problems.

When everyone on the ship realized that everything was over, they could not help letting out sighs of relief. "Whew. Good job, Joker. How close are we of the Reaper signal?" Shepard asked.

EDI replied. **"Approximate distance... 600 meters."** Shepard raised an eyebrow. That close? She believed they landed far from their destination. "Do you have any information about this planet?" Shepard asked.

 **"Atmospheric and temperature conditions are similar to Earth. My sensors can only detect that, sorry Commander."** EDI answered again.

Shepard raised an eyebrow again. "You sure of that? I don't think this weather is friendly." Shepard replied, looking through the window to this new planet.

Everything was very dark; no illumination, there were no trees or lakes and the land was of a strange bluish color. **"Yes, I have reviewed the analysis a thousand times, and I have not encountered any problems. The weather on this planet has a similarity to Earth in a 99.9998%."**

Shepard at this did not discuss any further, she just nodded and turned around, just to see Jacob and Miranda at the exit of the cab. "Get ready, we'll investigate the signal and we'll immediately get off this planet." Both Miranda and Jacob nodded and quickly went to prepare themselves to their cabins.

Shepard did it as well, she went to her cabin and once there she put on her Blood Dragon Armor. Then she went out of there before going to the ship's hangar, where Jacob and Miranda were already waiting for her.

"Remember that we are here to investigate the signal only. Don't get distracted, if you see something hostile, shoot to kill. We don't want surprises, right?" Shepard asked as she checked her M-8 Avenger.

Jacob and Miranda nodded, and they also checked their weapons. Then they saw that the Hangar's door slowly began to be opened. They quickly put their oxygen masks on; they could not believe that this planet had similarity with the weather of the Earth.

When the back door of the ship opened, a strong gust came from outside. Shepard did not flinch because of her helmet, but Jacob and Miranda had to cover their faces a bit due to the strong gust of wind.

"Shepard here, we're about to descend. Joker, check that everything is working in the Normandy. I want everything to be functional in case we need to leave this planet." Said Shepard through the intercom.

"Aye, Aye, Commander," Joker replied, just to see them descending from the ship's platform and take a few steps on land.

Once Shepard stepped on solid ground, she felt a chill; she didn't know why but she had a bad feeling. She then looked ahead and saw a castle. Well, which presumably remained of a castle.

This edification quickly caught her attention because it looked a lot like one of those castles that were in the Middle Ages; perhaps the ancient inhabitants of this planet were not so different from them.

"Shepard here, the signal appears to come from inside the castle, we'll take a look. Copy Normandy?" Shepard asked through her intercom.

She only got static as a response through the comm. Shepard repeated what she said, but again, static.

She looked back to see her ship, and she was surprised by what she saw there, or better said, by what she didn't see there. The Normandy was gone; there were not even traces on the ground that the ship had landed.

"Normandy, Shepard here. I didn't give the authorization to take off." Shepard said again into her communicator, but again there was no answer.

Jacob and Miranda to hear what Shepard said quickly turned around, only to see the same as Shepard. "What happened, Commander? Where's the ship?" Miranda asked.

Shepard growled and made the sign move on as she took the rifle from her back to point it forward as she began to walk slowly. "I don't know. I think this planet had something to do with it. Let's move, maybe we'll find the answers we're looking for in that castle."

Within the Normandy, Joker could hear Shepard's voice, but though he tried, he couldn't communicate with them. **"Joker, it seems that the barrier that surrounds the planet is now surrounding us. Maybe that's why Commander Shepard believes that we have left the planet."** EDI reported appearing in a table next to Joker, who upon hearing this growled as he crossed his arms.

"Then we'll have to wait for the Commander to find what she's looking for. There's still a few minutes left until our shields recharge completely. So we'll just wait a few minutes, and if the Commander doesn't return, then we'll have to get through the barrier again and then pick them up. "

EDI at this began to make noises until she replied. **"I recommend not to do that. I have done some analysis to the barrier, and the results indicate that the ship will not resist as it did in space. This barrier is much more corrosive."**

Joker at this quickly turned his head to look at the figure of EDI, and when he was about to contradict her, he saw something that worried him through the screen that showed the exterior.

"Commander! If you can hear me, get inside the castle and hide. Did you hear me, Commander? Hide!" Joker only growled when he realized that Shepard did not hear his warning, but he just stood by and watched. Shepard could take care of herself.

Returning with the Commander and her team, they were going slowly towards the castle; there was a door, which had seen better days. Then Shepard motioned her team to go to the gate, but they suddenly heard some strange grunts.

Shepard knew those grunts; she met them on her visit to Eden Prime to get the Prothean Beacon. Therefore, she quickly turned around and ordered. "Husks! Fast! Get into the castle." Shepard commanded as she began to shoot some bursts of her rifle at the Husks, which were appearing out of nowhere.

Jacob and Miranda quickly nodded and gave supporting fire as they retreated to the castle. They climbed a small hill that led to the entrance of the castle, which was surrounded by what once was presumably a river.

They kept firing, but the Husks were increasing in number, it was as if they were endless. "Commander! I'm about to run out of ammo, and we can't resist much with our biotic powers. We must get inside!" Miranda exclaimed while reloading her M-9 Tempest.

Shepard quickly nodded, and she began to run towards the castle, jumping the small strait that separated the castle hill.

They did not stop, and they immediately went through the battered door. "Hmm, we must block the way, or they will enter," Jacob said looking towards the entrance.

Shepard nodded and surrounded herself with her biotic cloak. Then she threw a powerful biotic attack at the ceiling, bring it down. The ceiling was ancient, and for that reason, it could not resist that power. "Come on, this won't contain them for long..." And Shepard stopped there, since she could hear many horns, such as a boat, but much more powerful.

"What's that?" Shepard asked anybody before looking through a window towards the sky, where these horns were sounding. "Reapers..." Shepard whispered

"Commander, can you communicate with the Normandy now? Those things will destroy us." Jacob said looking through a small window to nearly a dozen of Reapers descending from the sky.

Shepard at this tried to communicate again, but she only got static. "Damn, we've come too far to stop now; we'll investigate the Reaper signal no matter what. I'm sure we'll find something important in this place. Follow me; the signal is coming from the lower part of this location."

In the Normandy, everyone was in their positions if the Reapers decided to attack them, and Joker knew that this situation was becoming more complicated. "Come on. Hurry up, Commander." Joker said resisting the impulse to go to the castle and pick his crew up.

Joker then saw that several of the Reapers started charging their primary weapons before firing at the castle, this almost made him start-up the ship, but he didn't because EDI's voice stopped him, reminding him about the barrier that was still around the vessel. Joker just growled and continued watching; it seemed that the Reapers couldn't see them, he thought that the barrier had something to do with that.

Back at the castle, Shepard and the others began to descend several stairs at full speed; the whole castle was collapsing due to the attacks of the Reapers. Reaching the basement was their priority.

They continued walking down stairs; they were spiral-shaping stairs. After about four minutes of walking down the stairs, they spotted the end. They were very deep underground, and they realized of this because they could no longer hear the sound of their horns or their cannons.

Shepard then turned her Omni-tool on, which indicated that the signal was very close to them, more specifically within the tunnel that they saw when they finally descended the stairs. Then, they turned their night sights on with their Omni-tools to be able to see, as everything was very dark.

"Don't separate, we are only at 200 meters from our goal," Shepard told the others, who nodded and followed her from behind.

Shepard then kept going, all this while looking at her Omni-tool, until she realized that this began to fail, while some lines of static appeared, which was unusual in an Omni-tool. "What the hell is happening?" Shepard asked.

Jacob and Miranda didn't know how to answer because their Omni-tools were also failing. "Well, let's keep going, maybe it's because we're deep under the ground, we descended several meters after passing the stairs," Shepard concluded.

They walked a few more meters until they realized that there were three paths before them. More specifically, three caves. "Everyone, choose a path, I'll go to the right one. Check if your communicators are working between ourselves. Let me know if you find anything." Shepard said to Jacob and Miranda, who nodded and checked their communicators, which were smoothly working between them.

"Okay, let's go." Shepard said, and everyone went into their respective tunnels, which were completely dark. However, thanks to their night sights, they could see clearly. Shepard could tell that this was still part of the castle. There was no doubt that the ancient inhabitants of this planet were great builders to keep these tunnels stable after so many years. Nevertheless, Shepard was intrigued; the residents of this planet did not seem very technologically advanced.

She did not know why the Reapers invaded them, maybe they had discovered something important, something that alerted the Reapers, and perhaps, that something was where the Reaper signal was, if she could get that, whatever it was, then the galaxy could be saved from the imminent Reaper invasion.

Shepard walked through the hallway, then, after a few minutes, she said through her communicator. "Looks like I've found something; return to my position," Shepard said as she put her rifle on her back since she saw a room that was strangely glowing green.

She came in and what she saw there surprised her. " _A Prothean Beacon... What is this doing here?"_ Shepard asked herself, walking slowly towards that elongated object, of almost two meters height, but very thin.

Shepard got closer to the Beacon. If this one were equal to that one of Eden Prime, then this beacon contained some information to defeat the Reapers. Even though her first experience with one of these beacons was not at all pleasant, she would touch it for the benefit of the galaxy.

She then stood in front of the beacon; she began to stare at it and sighed as she approached with her hands out. She then touched it and in an instant, everything changed around her. Shepard was now seeing images of people, humans fighting the Reapers.

However, what most surprised Shepard was what these humans were capable of doing. They could control the seas, the skies, and the earth. She saw animals of the size of a building helping the humans to fight the Reapers; they managed to defeat some of them. Nonetheless, they could not do much.

She then realized that all the people began to lose morale, letting themselves be killed or be turned into one of them. Nevertheless, all that changed when a person appeared, a very tall man with blond hair. He had whisker marks on his cheeks and was approximately 20 years old, but Shepard could tell that he was much older by the look on his face.

Though Shepard could not hear anything, she realized that all the people started cheering to the man who just appeared, and she also realized that confidence in them had returned.

The following events Shepard witnessed were things she will never forget. That man, no, that God in the body of a human did things that would seem even ridiculous and unthinkable.

Shepard saw him creating vast forests out of nowhere, wrapping and crushing several Reapers of Sovereign class, as well as various types of what she could see, elemental attacks.

She also saw him doing the Reapers float against their will toward a black ball in the skies. Attracting them there and crushing several Reapers, turning them all into hugely balls in the air.

He even turned into a huge black ten-tailed fox, capable of doing with his claws only, significant damage to the Reapers. Clawing and causing deep holes anywhere those powerful claws struck.

She also saw him creating Gigantic Balls, which formed in front of his snout before seeing him throwing them and causing catastrophic damages.

At this point, Shepard believed that some deity decided to put a stop to the Reapers and their carnage around the universe, but that did not explain why the Reapers still existed. Therefore, she just stood by and continued watching.

She then saw the deity falling into despair countless times. Shepard could tell he lost many of his loved ones, but his depression only lasted what seemed a few days. Shepard then saw him, even more, determined. For each of his loved ones he lost, Shepard realized that he destroyed dozens of Reapers, maybe in a state of anger and vent.

Shepard was sure that this man could destroy all the Reapers; he seemed to do it very easily. However, they were too many, and more and more of the loved ones of that person died, and Shepard saw him more and more discouraged; until the point that he was fighting with less intensity than in the beginning. But still, everything he could do was amazing.

But then Shepard saw that the resistance forces of that planet decreased increasingly, and though that man was very powerful, he couldn't save them all.

Then everything changed again, and Shepard realized that the man was now in a sort of war council, talking to some people who looked desperate and seemed to request the help of this man.

"We will defeat the Reapers... but it will also be the end of all of us." Shepard finally managed to hear. That statement caught her attention. Therefore, she paid more attention.

Nonetheless, she couldn't because everything was disappearing; she was slowly getting away from what could be the only source to defeat the Reapers.

"Nooo!" Shepard shouted putting all of herself to try to see what had happened next; she made a great effort, using all her willpower to try to see.

And it was worth it. Shepard saw that blond man placing a golden spherical object into a machine, which began to glow.

Shepard then realized that on the roof of the castle in which she was now, appeared a kind of cannon, from which a beam of light came off, which slowly covered the entire landscape. Meanwhile, the Reapers fled to avoid that light beam, whatever it was. Nonetheless, Shepard knew it was a weapon capable of defeating them.

How did she come to that conclusion? Naturally, she saw that the light beam wrapped some Reapers, causing them to stop functioning and fall to the ground like rocks. The effect did not happen only where the castle was, but rather everywhere, even outside the planet, destroying all the Reapers who were stranded in space, making them mere junks.

And even though Shepard wanted to see more, she could not; she wanted to know what had happened to the man who defeated the Reapers. She wanted to know what happened in the end. However, she could not because she felt that her head started burning, taking her in an instant out of that vision or whatever it was.

Shepard instantly felt that she returned to where she was before; she realized that the Prothean Beacon was no longer there, which was strange.

The next thing that happened was that she fell to her knees, as she felt that something was trying to get inside her mind. Something was telling her to stop trying, to give up and no longer continue.

Nevertheless, Shepard did her best to ignore what was whispering those words, and she pushed herself to the limit to ignore that. "I won't! I'll stop them even if it's the last thing I do!" Shepard exclaimed while making an effort to stand up.

"Interesting..." Shepard heard the voice of a person in the room; she could not identify where that sound has been coming from since she still felt that something was trying to manipulate her. "W-Where are you? Who are you?" Shepard asked, taking her helmet off to hold her head as she turned around slightly.

"I'm here... I'm everywhere. As for whom I am, that's not important. What I want to know is, what are you doing in my humble abode and what do you want from this place?" The voice asked, a male voice, which could be heard quite wise, and it conveyed an indescribable power that Shepard had never felt before.

Shepard then turned around, since she felt the voice behind her, but when she turned, she saw no one there. "W-We detected a Reaper signal in this place; w-we came to investigate *gasp* with the hope that it would help us defeating the Reapers."  
"Hope? ... There is no such thing as hope, not with them. There is no way of defeating them; you're just wasting your time." The voice replied.

Upon hearing this, Shepard shook her head and answered. "Y-You're wrong; there is hope. I saw it… I saw how the ancient people of this planet were able to defeat them..." Shepard refuted.

Shepard then heard a laugh; laughter charged of mockery and sorrow. "Hope in reality is the worst of all evils because it prolongs the torments of man."

Shepard shook her head again, and this time, she took a few steps with difficulty as she looked in all directions. "Y-You're wrong; the hope is our future. Without a future, we have no hope. Without hope, we might as well be machines, programmed to do what we're told." Shepard replied and instantly she felt that that which was trying to get inside her mind stopped.

"Interesting... You're definitely someone interesting, Commander Shepard. I think I've made a good decision to allow you to enter into my planet." The voice replied again.

Shepard could not deny that she was surprised that this person knew her name; this planet was out of her galaxy. She did not believe that she was known in other galaxies.

"How do you know my name?" Shepard asked, shaking her head to pull away that feeling of discomfort that remained in her head.

However, the voice just ignored her question. "You definitely surprised me; you've managed to resist my influence. I used the same intensity that the Reapers used to indoctrinate their victims. There's no doubt that you have a very powerful mind, plus a willpower I haven't seen in many millennia." The voice stated, but actually, he used a little more intensity than the Reapers used, all in order to test Shepard.

"Millennia you said?" Shepard asked now less painfully. Nevertheless, she was surprised again; did this person want to indoctrinate her?

"Yes... Millennia. You are not the first one that came here. But you're the first one who reached this far..." The voice replied again.

"What are you?" Shepard asked, and just then, she heard a voice behind her. "The correct question would be. Who are you?" Shepard then quickly turned around and whom she saw there surprised her.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and welcome to my world... Commander."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes:
> 
> Done! I hope you've enjoyed this Prologue, and I hope you give it a chance.
> 
> Try not to draw too many conclusions yet, I'll explain many things in the next chapter. Just tell me what you think of the Prologue. I would like to know your opinions.
> 
> Well, the fic starts in Mass Effect 2. I recommend to people who don't know the game to you buy Mass Effect 1, it is fascinating, but I did not start from there since I did not see it appropriate. I didn't see it necessary to add the history of the Geth and Saren.
> 
> Well, I decided to make Shepard a woman, for those who don't know, Shepard is her last name, nobody knows her real name (maybe the creator of the story) Everyone refers to her as "Shepard" or "Commander" I see no point in giving her a name.
> 
> It is most likely that this will be a FemShep X Naruto. Nonetheless, that will have to wait a while.
> 
> Well, as you have noticed, Naruto is more than 100,000 years old! And I tell you he did not lose time in these 100 thousand years. In the future, I will give all the explanations, but for the moment, you just have to relax and wait for new chapters, which will take a while to be published.
> 
> I will update this story occasionally only; I'll be more on the lookout for my other fic, "A demon in the shadows." If you have not read it yet, I recommend you read it ;) you will not regret it.
> 
> Special thanks to crimsondragonkiller for being my beta reader. He did the corrections to this chapter. All the credits to him.
> 
> Add me as your friend on Facebook. The link is on my Bio! Sometimes the mail alerts don't work, and for that reason, you may not know when I update the chapters. Add me ;)
> 
> Happy new year to everybody :D
> 
> Well, that's all; please leave your reviews to let me know what you think of this project.
> 
> Greetings and until next time.
> 
> Edit: This is already published on Fanfiction, I'll publish here the uncensored version.


	2. Chapter 1

Organic being talking. "Hello"

Organic being thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Jutsus. _"Mokuton no Jutsu!"_

 **Disclaimer** : I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

* * *

** Chapter 1. **

"Welcome to my world, Commander." Shepard hearing this voice quickly turned around, and she was surprised to see a person in front of her. It was the man of the vision; he still preserved the appearance of a man of 20 years old. He was about 183 centimeters tall; he wore a white outfit that had strange black comma-shaped drawings around the neck. In addition, half of his suit was black with a thick waist belt of the same color. Besides, he had a sort of fan on his back.

She tried to say something, but no words came out of her due to her surprise. That God-man was in front of her, but she did not know how that could be possible. The vision she had seen was supposed to have been thousands of years ago, so how could he still be alive? Shepard asked herself.

"You, but how is that possible?" She asked as she saw Naruto sitting in an armchair where the Prothean beacon had been moments ago, which surprised her again. At what point did that chair appear there?

"How is 'what' possible, Commander?" Naruto asked.

"You... How is it possible that you're still alive? That vision was supposed to be from thousands of years ago. How are you still alive?" She asked.

Upon hearing this, Naruto sighed and answered. "By the events of life is that I am still alive," Naruto answered.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked.

"Has anyone ever told you that you ask too many questions?" Naruto asked with a serious look.

Shepard also looked at him with seriousness. "I want to know; I want to know why you're still alive. I just think that you're..."

"I am not," answered Naruto before Shepard could even finish. "But if I didn't..." Shepard tried to say again.

"I am not, Commander. I'm not a god. Even if I have the qualities of one, like immortality, I'm not." Naruto replied again.

"I-Immortality?" Shepard asked incredulously.

Naruto scratched his head at this as he put a nervous smile on his face. "Huh? Did I say that? *Sigh* I think some things will never change. I always have talked too much, Danzō was right." Naruto began talking to himself, recalling his first Sensei and the scolding of this one.

Nonetheless, Shepard shook her head and took a step forward; she didn't have the slightest idea what meant. "Yes, that's what you said; I want you to explain to me everything from the beginning." Shepard demanded with a defiant look, and Naruto upon seeing her attitude couldn't help smiling mentally.

"Okay, but I want you to know that what you are about to hear, you may find it... Let's say it, unbelievable." Naruto stated.

"Trust me; after seeing you doing all those things in that vision, I doubt there's anything that can surprise me," Shepard replied.

"Okay, but... Take a seat," Naruto said snapping his fingers and instantly a chair emerged behind Shepard, which surprised her quite a bit. Nonetheless, she didn't ask about it and sat down saying nothing.

"Okay; I'll summarize the story, so you don't get bored. Well, when you saw the light beam killing everything that it touched, it did it; I died that day." Naruto started, causing Shepard to widen her eyes, but Naruto continued. "I died, but the Shinigami gave me eternal life in exchange for exterminating the Reapers."

"Wait, wait, wait... Shinigami?" Shepard interrupted confused.

"Oh yes, that's right. In your language, it is the God of Death." Naruto answered.

Nonetheless, Shepard shook her head. "Yeah; I know that the Shinigami is the God of Death. The Japanese call that to the God of Death."

Naruto then smiled. "Oh, interesting; although I already knew that."

"You know that?" Shepard asked.

Naruto made a stop sign and answered. "I'll tell you later; now I'll continue with the story. The Shinigami is unique, there can only exist one God of Death for the entire universe, and you can imagine the amount of work that that implies. Moreover, when the Reapers appeared, his work increased a hundredfold. He was very frustrated because no one could stop them. Not even the gods because they can't intervene in matters of living beings. Until we showed up, the Shinobi. He saw potential in us. However, he didn't know if the Reapers would ever come to our planet because our technology wasn't very advanced. And if they ever came, we would surely no longer exist."

Naruto then paused for a moment so that Shepard can assimilate his words. "But the Reapers eventually came to my planet. Faster than the Shinigami had thought. He looked carefully at how we defended ourselves, and he was quite disappointed when he realized that my fellow Shinobi could do little to stop them until I decided to kick their bastard asses. Our war with them lasted seven years; we were not many on my planet, we were a small continent of no more than 5 million people. I tried to save them all, but I couldn't. In the beginning, there was only a maximum of five Reapers. But when I showed up on the scene, they sent a whole fleet. Although I could have fought with them until the end of the days. I said to myself it was not worth it to continue fighting. Why should I keep fighting if there is no one else to fight for? So I decided to use the weapon that you saw in the vision."

Shepard nodded after hearing all this, and Naruto continued. "After receiving the beam, I died. I went to the kingdom of the Shinigami and there he told me that I didn't defeat the Reapers, they were only a small part of their total strength... When I heard that, I was furious, and the Shinigami offered me immortality in exchange for defeating them. I accepted without hesitation; I wanted to avenge them all. I wanted to make each and every one of them to pay for what they had done. So the Shinigami returned me to life, waiting for someday that I could defeat them all."

"But why have you never helped anyone? What are you still waiting for?" Shepard asked surprised by the story she had heard.

"I'll only say that no species convinced me. They were very individualistic; many species thought only of their own survival, and they didn't care about the others. That's why I see a lot of potential in you, Commander; I can see that you want to unite your whole galaxy. It's something I had never seen, and I think it may be possible. You remind me a lot of myself when I was a kid, trying to unite everyone. That's why allowed you to enter into my world; it's because you are different than all those I have seen so far. You have that charisma that can make people unite in your galaxy. Furthermore and most importantly, in your galaxy, there are no species that want to have an empire like the Protheans. You even have a council of species, which is quite surprising. But that organization Cerberus is nothing good. What what the leader of that organization supposedly wants is that humans 'persevere' but I can see that what he wants is human domination."

"How do you know about the Illusive Man?" Shepard asked even though she believed that Naruto was right about the Illusive Man at that point; she was not working with him for that reason; she was doing it because he was the only one who wanted to investigate the Reapers.

"Well, I can read people's minds. By being close to me or when entering into the atmosphere of my planet. In your case, I could learn your language and how your Galaxy is when you and your whole crew came into my world."

This surprised Shepard again. "Are you sure you're not a god?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head with a serious look. "I don't want to consider myself as a god. I don't like that title. In my time, someone saw himself as a God. But I had to give him a few strokes to talk some sense into him. What I mean is if I consider myself a God for any reason, it's most likely that I'll end up like him. With silly and ridiculous ideas that could keep me away from my goals and objectives. You may see me as one, but I'm not. I'm a human who just received the mission of a true God." Naruto answered.

Shepard was still surprised; there were still a lot of things that she wanted to ask. However, she didn't because she remembered the Reapers that were on the surface. "Don't worry; they are not real Reapers. They are a mere illusion." Naruto assured, reading Shepard's mind again.

Shepard squinted and said. "Could you stop doing that? It's quite annoying. And how it's that an illusion?" She asked.

Naruto at this rose from his seat, then approached her, placed his hand on her shoulder and disappeared along with her in a yellow flash.

Shepard couldn't explain what she had felt, first she saw Naruto putting a hand on her shoulder and felt that everything went blurry for a moment before appearing on the surface. There she could still see several Reapers, but what surprised her most was to see to the Normandy attacking the Reapers while dodging their beams.

"Commander, I can see you got an excellent team. When your pilot saw that the castle started to crumble, he didn't hesitate to come to your rescue, even though it could have cost him his life. That's another reason I decided to help you. You have good comrades willing to give their lives to save their friends. That's something that one of my masters taught me in the past." Naruto stated, also looking at the ship that was fighting with the illusions.

"I didn't even ask you to join me." Shepard replied, but Naruto chuckled and answered. "You forgot that I can read minds. You were thinking for quite some time ago to ask for my help."

Shepard tried to say something but then sighed in defeat because Naruto was right. The next thing she saw was that Naruto placed his hands in a strange position and said. " _Kai."_

She did not understand the meaning of the word, but she assumed it was something to remove the illusion. Because by saying that word everything changed.

The Reapers disappeared, the blue sky and the purple ground changed to a normal color. On top of that, everything looked beautiful; the landscape, the lakes that were visible, the birds and animals that were running around. It was wonderful; it was even more beautiful than the most beautiful landscape you could find on Earth. Well, if could find any, due to the advancement of man in her world it was difficult to find beautiful landscapes. Even the castle that had collapsed was now complete as if it were new and shiny.

Shepard then realized that the Normandy instantly stopped fighting and landed a few meters away of them. While the Normandy landed, Shepard heard the voices of Miranda and Jacob. "Commander!" Both shouted approaching to Shepard's position.

Miranda and Jacob looked strangely at Naruto since they had no idea who he could be, and for that reason, Jacob asked. "Who is he, Commander?"

"I'll explain everything once we're on the ship. You only need to know that from now on he will be part of our team. Naruto, they are Jacob and Miranda. Crewmembers of the Normandy."

Naruto bowed slightly. "Yes. I'm already aware of them, but it doesn't matter... My name is Naruto Uzumaki, inhabitant on this planet. Nice to meet you."

Jacob and Miranda greeted him slightly, but Miranda decided to ask. "Inhabitant? How can that be possible? The inhabitants of this planet supposedly disappeared thousands of years ago."

"As I said, I'll explain all that happened here once we return to the ship," Shepard answered, and upon saying this, she heard another voice.

"Commander!" Joker shouted as he walked down the ship's hangar.

He walked with difficulty towards them and upon getting there; he looked at Naruto strangely, especially because of the clothes he wore. Nevertheless, Joker ignored this by shaking his head. "Hey Commander, what the hell is happening on this planet? First, this planet looks like hell and then the Reapers appears. Now the planet has a quite beautiful look, and the Reapers disappeared magically. Do you know what happened?" he asked.

Shepard looked stealthily at Naruto, who seemed quite thoughtful. However, all the members of her crew noticed that she looked at Naruto. "Who is he, Commander?" Joker asked.

Shepard sighed since she had to repeat the answer she gave to Jacob and Miranda.

"I see. But why is he dressing like that? And why does he have a fan on his back?" Joker whispered, covering his mouth with his hand.

The large fan on Naruto's back had caught everyone's attention, including Shepard's, who until now couldn't tell what it was. Nonetheless, she had chosen to ignore this and approached Naruto.

"Now we will return to continue my mission. Are you sure you want to help us to defeat the Reapers?" She asked; she wanted him to say yes. She was confident that they could defeat the Reapers with Naruto's help.

It would not help denying the strength and potential that Naruto had; he was a bloody one-man army.

Naruto at Shepard's question smiled and replied. "I already told you, Commander. You won my respect and hence my help. Just let me do one thing before we leave; I have to bring my 'foxy' friend with me."

Shepard opened her eyes widely while thinking on that huge beast that she had seen him transforming. Therefore, she looked at him and asked doubtfully. "Are you sure that that thing won't eat us or something?" She asked.

Naruto at this smiled and shook his head. "If he wants to eat someone, then it will be me. It passed 5000 years since the last time I saw him. He will be furious." Naruto replied.

Those who were behind them could clearly hear Naruto's words and they thought he was crazy. Did he say five thousand years? Not even the asari lived that long.

Then Naruto turned around, and everyone could see that Naruto's eyes changed to a purple color with strange ripples. "Commander, I would ask you to pull your crew back. What they are about to see could shock them. Although they can also stay, they will eventually see him. So, it's your decision."

Upon hearing this, Shepard thought for a moment and then asked. "He won't attack us?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head, and Shepard nodded hers. "Okay. They already saw the Reapers; I don't think they can get very surprised." Shepard answered.

Naruto smiled and then made some hand seals at a crazy speed, which surprised everyone. Shepard already knew that he had to do that to make those strange attacks. Nevertheless, the others believed that the boy in front of them was crazy for moving his hands like that.

 _"Kuchiyose: Gedō Mazō (Summoning: Demonic Statue of the Outer Path)"_ Naruto yelled after finishing his hand positions. He then placed his hand on the ground and in a moment, everyone realized that the earth began to shake. Luckily, he had told everyone to get behind him, since if not, his 'little' summoning could have grabbed them unintentionally.

Shepard and the others then watched in shock how the ground broke to make way for an enormous creature that roared mightily after emerging entirely. Joker couldn't help but fall back in surprise, and Jacob and Miranda almost opened their jaws down on the ground. Again, Shepard could not help but be surprised.

"Phew, I think it is like this because the last time I summoned it was 5000 years ago." All they heard Naruto say, who then placed his hand on another strange position. "Kai!" Naruto exclaimed, and immediately the Gedō Mazō's mouth opened while a strange black ball formed right in front of its mouth.

Then something started coming out from that ball, something that began to grow and grow, taking shape to something that Shepard had already seen before.

 **"Narutoooooooooooooooooo!"** Everyone heard the yell of the enormous black ten-tailed Fox before them, who was waving his ten tails rapidly. This time, they all fell back, including Shepard since she began to feel a strange pressure when the beast had appeared. It was something that terrified her; it was a quite powerful feeling. How much was the difference between the worlds of Naruto and hers? She asked herself

Naruto sighed upon hearing Kurama's burst of anger. Then he saw that Kurama turned around and started running towards them to attack him. Shepard and the others could only watch helplessly as the great beast headed toward them. Once he was close to them, the creature stood on two legs before lowering his right front leg towards Naruto.

Everyone closed their eyes, but they all heard Naruto yelling. _"Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)!"_ After hearing those words, they instantly opened their eyes in time to see Naruto throwing the great beast backward.

"W-What the hell is that guy?" Joker asked just to see Naruto flying to where Kurama stopped. "I-I ... I-I think he's a god, but he refuses to see himself as one." Shepard replied.

"A god?" They all asked in confusion, but they only observed. When they were on the ship, then they would ask about what was going on.

Meanwhile, Naruto reached the place where Kurama was, who slowly stood up after the powerful technique thrown him backward. "Have you calmed down?" Naruto asked Kurama, who growled angrily and exclaimed.

 **"You fucking fool! Five thousand years. Five thousand years** **have passed** **since the last time you visited me! Do you know how damn boring it is to be in there for** **five thousand** **years without a good fight?!"** Kurama exclaimed as he concentrated chakra in front of his snout to make the Bijudama.

Naruto, who was floating, smiled as he grabbed the fan on his back. "So, do you want a good battle, huh? Or do you want me to kick your ass? Hehehe." Naruto snorted as he put the fan in front of him.

Kurama growled after seeing the fan, so he charged much more Chakra in his Bijudama, considerably increasing its size.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Joker shouted from his place when seeing the massive ball of chakra in the sky. It was huge; it was immense. Shepard knew that ball, she had already seen in that vision what one of those balls could do, and the one that Kurama was making was maybe two or three times the size of those she had seen.

"He said he wouldn't attack us. We're too close; we'll be in the range of the explosion. Everybody, get into the ship. Joker, get us out of here." Shepard ordered, but it was too late because everyone could see the great beast throwing the attack to Naruto, who was waiting for it with his fan forward.

"This is our end..." Miranda whispered believing that Naruto and they all would die. Nevertheless, Shepard knew that he would not; she was concerned about themselves only, not about Naruto. He had already made clear that he was immortal. That was something she would not argue. If he had lived for so many years, it was for that reason.

Naruto then prepared himself, and after a few seconds, he received the huge Bijudama with his fan, which quickly absorbed it. _"Shinobigaeshi (Shinobi Return_ )" Naruto whispered after the fan had finished absorbing the Bijudama. He turned it and released a devastating attack from it, which looked like a cannon beam. Nevertheless, much thicker and thus much more powerful.

The attack slammed entirely into Kurama, who barely managed to protect himself with his tails to lessen the damage. However, when the attack had hit him, the ground beneath him shattered, the ground shook, and a huge crater appeared in the place where the attack had hit.

In the distance, the crew could see the massive explosion, but it didn't reach them because the fan of Naruto focused any attack at one point. Thus, Naruto concentrated all the power of the Bijudama where Kurama had stood.

They were completely surprised since they had seen the little fan absorbing the technique before he turned it and released the blast toward the huge beast. "Now I understand why you say that, Commander. That guy can't be a living being. Hell, where did someone like him come from?" Joker asked astonished.

"I ... I don't know. But we can defeat the Reapers with his help. That's all I know." Shepard replied, still amazed by such demonstration of power. Even the most powerful biotic power could not achieve such feats. Maybe a weapon of mass destruction could do it. Nevertheless, she was sure they were holding back a lot.

Naruto then descended slightly from the air and approached Kurama once the smoke that had gotten up by the attack had disappeared. As he was a few meters away from him, Naruto realized that the dirt covered Kurama as he pulled his tails away from him. "Did you have enough? Or do you want another spanking?" Naruto asked with a smile.

Kurama at this smiled cleverly. **"** **You were** **not the only one who** **improved** **in all this time..."** Before Naruto could ask what he meant, he saw that Kurama disappeared in a huge puff of smoke. "Kage Bunshin?" Naruto then turned around, and in doing so, he saw Kurama in front of him smiling widely, approaching his right frontal leg to him.

Nonetheless, Naruto smiled and stood still only, and when Kurama thought he was going to hit him, he just went through him. It was as if he weren't there, but at the same time, as if he were. Kurama knew that technique very well, and for that reason, he asked. **"What the hell?! How can you use 'that' technique?"**

Naruto smiled and replied. "After I ripped Obito's Sharingan out, instead of destroying it, I decided to keep it to use it one day. In those days, my body wasn't ready to have his Sharingan. Nevertheless, it was possible after the deal with the Shinigami. However, I didn't want the Sharingan as an eye, so I invented a jutsu to assimilate it. Now I can use the Sharingan techniques without having the eye, hehe. "

Kurama upon hearing this sighed and asked. **"How long ago?"** Naruto landed and replied. "Hmmm; I don't know. About 50,000 years ago."

 **"WHAT?! You could have used this technique since** **50** **,000 years ago, and you never told me!"** Kurama exclaimed incredulously.

Naruto waved his hands in defense and replied. "Yesyesyesyes. But remember that I spent a lot of time sleeping, and when I woke up, I always forgot to tell you. Also, you never forced me enough to use it." Naruto said at the end with a superior smile.

Kurama just sighed in defeat, hearing Naruto continuing. "But how can you make a Kage Bunshin? That's amazing." Naruto stated.

 **"Well, it took me many years; I also have Chakra, so using Jutsus is not impossible for me. But I must practice them until I can use them without hand seals. And you could say that I thought of you when I did it. You never used hand** **seals** **. Therefore, I tried to replicate it and after several years, I managed to do it. Although I can't do more than one clone."** Kurama replied.

"Wow, that's amazing. Maybe you and Red can now give me an intense battle." Naruto stated, and Kurama smiled.

 **"You're lucky that I didn't fight seriously; I didn't even use 10% of my power because of those humans that are over there... By the way, who are they?"** Kurama asked.

Naruto then changed his expression to a more serious one. "Kurama, the day has finally come. After all, this time, we'll finally start the mission that Shinigami-sama entrusted us. It's time to hunt down those bastards."

Kurama at this asked with a straight face. **"So** **, you** **have found a species that is worth the help** **.** **I don't know; they don't seem like trustworthy or special people."** Kurama asked softly so the others can't hear him, and then he looked at them, who were a bit scared since the great fox was now looking at them.

"H-he will eat us," Joker stated. Nonetheless, Shepard replied.

"Come on Joker, don't exaggerate; he's probably convincing the Fox to help us. Trust me; I saw what those two can do as a team." Shepard replied

"Pff, you don't need to say it, Commander. After seeing their battle, I have no doubt that they can do some serious damage to… well, anything." Joker added, but suddenly they began to hear some whispering in a strange language. Thus, they looked back, and they saw dozens of fine people gathering behind them.

These people had looks of happiness on their faces; some of them had tears of joy as they looked at Naruto, who right now was finishing talking to Kurama. "That woman; she is different from all those who had come to this place. She really wants to save her galaxy, besides she wants that all species unite for peace. It reminds me a little of myself when I was younger. For that reason, I brought you out of there after so long. It's time to come back to me, my friend. It's time we destroy the Reapers and avenge the deaths of our friends." Naruto stated.

Kurama then put a look of determination on his face. **"Okay, let's do it. I thought you would never decide to fight them, but finally, the day came. I want to crush a few of those bastards with my tails to remember the good times."**

Meanwhile, Shepard and the others had tried to talk with the people behind them, but they just ignored them as they continued looking happily at Naruto, probably because they could not understand their language. Therefore, they just looked at the front again, just to see Naruto absorbing the great beast.

These people clapped with excitement after seeing this. Nonetheless, Shepard and the others simply ignored them, since they saw that Naruto fell to his knees after finishing absorbing Kurama.

 _"Hell_ _,_ _Kurama. How much Natural Energy have you gathered with the help of the Gedō Mazō?"_ Naruto asked starting to get up slowly; Kurama definitely increased a lot his power during this time.

 **"Hehehe, enough to make you gasp,"** Kurama answered already within Naruto, who then shook his head and looked at where Shepard and her crew were, seeing several people besides them.

Therefore, he disappeared in a yellow flash to appear instantly in front of Shepard and her crew, who were surprised to see Naruto teleporting. "Commander, everything is almost ready so that we can leave. Just let me speak to my children." Naruto said making everyone who came along with Shepard open their eyes in shock.

There were around 20 people, who almost pounced on Naruto when they saw him. "They are your children?" Shepard asked intrigued.

Naruto smiled as he received the hugs of some of them while others shouted 'Oto-sama.' Nonetheless, Naruto decided to answer Shepard's question. "You could say that. But they weren't conceived; I'll you explain later." Naruto then paused and looked at the sky. "Red..." Naruto said.

Instantly, all they heard a powerful banging on the air as a red cloud began to form in the air, and then it descended and took shape right in front of Naruto.

After the cloud took shape, they all they could see a strange humanoid creature. It was almost like a human, but it was entirely red. Besides, it was naked, but it didn't have a face or private parts. **"Do you** **need** **something, Naruto-sama?"** Red asked in the strange language. Nevertheless, Shepard and the others found the language a bit familiar.

Naruto at his question looked for a split second to Red, who nodded. **"I see, Naruto-sama. So the day has** **finally** **come."** Then he looked at Shepard. **"It's nice to meet you, Commander Shepard. It's certainly a pleasure to meet the woman who made Naruto-sama finally get down to work."** Red stated with a slight bow, now speaking in an understandable language.

Shepard just looked at him. It was not something very strange. She and her crew had already seen different alien species, so Red's appearance didn't surprise them. What got their attention was that it knew Shepard's name, after all. Naruto didn't tell him anything.

**"Perhaps you are what Naruto-sama needs to rebuild his life. Maybe you could…"**

"Red..." Naruto interrupted, and Red realizing this quickly apologized to Naruto.

"Anyway, Red; you'll be in charge of the planet while I'm away. I'll come back when this is all over; you have power enough to keep the barrier and the Genjutsu around this place." Naruto stated, but this time in his native language.

Joker, realizing that, whispered to Shepard. "Commander, is that language Japanese? It sounds a lot like it." Joker asked, and Shepard nodded while configuring the translator of her Omni-tool. So they did, as they also wanted to know what they were talking about. They were not wrong, and they could clearly understand now.

"That's all Red, try to take care of everyone. The Reapers won't come here, so they have nothing around to worry about." Naruto then turned to look at the crowd and told them. "My children, after 3000 years I have awakened from my long nap. I know you are happy to see me again after so long, but now I must leave to fulfill the mission that Shinigami-sama entrusted me several millennia ago. But don't be sad, I will eventually return. Red will take care of all of you as he always has done while I took my long naps. But now I must depart with these people, we'll see each other again in a few years." Naruto said.

All the 'children' of Naruto nodded. Even though they were people created with Naruto's Rinnegan, they saw Naruto as their father and Naruto saw them as his children.

Naruto created them because he felt quite lonely after the first 10,000 years, Kurama was not enough for him. So first, he created Red, a humanoid being who shared all the abilities of Naruto, except the special ones as the Rinnegan or Kurama's chakra.

A few hundred years after that, and with all the power he had accumulated over the course of the years, he decided to create them. Besides, he increased Red's power until it was strong enough to keep the barrier that covered the planet.

Then they heard Red speaking again. **"And what about 'that' Naruto-sama. Are you going to use them now or you will save them for later?"** Red asked

Naruto shook his head and answered. "No, it's best not to use them yet. The Reapers haven't attacked in this cycle yet. So they would be useless for now. When the Reapers attack, I will send you a message; you will know what to do." Red nodded before seeing Naruto turning around to look at the visitors on this planet.

"Okay, is it time to leave?" Naruto asked with a half-smile since he could realize that everyone was staring at him with wide eyes.

However, the first one to leave that state was Shepard, who shook her head and then nodded. "Yeah, it's time to leave. There are still many things I want to ask you." With that said, they turned around to return to the ship, but not before saying goodbye to the people who had gathered there to see their father after several years.

The Normandy's crew boarded the ship by the hangar, and the others had followed them to give them a last farewell. Then the hangar door closed and everyone saw the ship taking flight before leaving the planet at full speed.

 ** _"Good luck, Naruto-sama_** ** _._** **_When_** ** _you need me; I will not hesitate to help you."_** Red said telepathically to Naruto, who nodded inside the ship. Then his expression changed to one of total determination.

The time had come, the time to fight again. But this time, to win.

"Before I ask you any more questions. I should take you to your quarters." Shepard said, and Naruto at this left his grave expression to look at her.

"Uhm, don't bother. I don't need sleep; I woke up about three years ago. So I'm not sleepy; I already slept enough. This place will be okay." Naruto answered making reference to the ship's hangar.

Shepard and the others looked at him with a sweat drop on their heads. "You know, three years without sleeping is a long time," Shepard replied incredulously.

Naruto scratched his head embarrassed and answered. "Well, it's not that much for me. Three years pass in a heartbeat."

Shepard sighed. "You know, three years do NOT pass in a heartbeat. But I think it's time for everyone to hear your story. Come with me to the Communications Room." Shepard ordered as she looked at Naruto placing a strange mark in the hangar of the ship. She raised an eyebrow but said nothing since Naruto answered her question. "Oh yes, I can teleport instantly wherever these marks are. It's just to save time."

"I told you to stop reading my mind. It's quite annoying." Shepard added, but Naruto smiled slightly and replied. "I didn't read your mind. I read the expression on your face. I knew you wanted to know what this was; now you know. But before we go, let me go to the cockpit."

Shepard just nodded, and she left the hangar along with Naruto before going to the ship's elevator. The others had already left long ago; they were the last ones to stay there.

After a few seconds, they reached the command post, and Naruto realized that everyone was looking at him with a bit of amazement, even though they could hide it quite well.

"Commander, that man is amazi...! Uh, hello." Kelly said with a slight blush looking at Naruto, which made him raise an eyebrow, but he said nothing about it.

"Hello, Kelly, nice to meet you," Naruto said bowing slightly.

Kelly imitated this, greeting him in the same way. Then she remembered that he called her by her name. "How do you know my name? Did the Commander tell you?" She asked.

"Yeah, I told him, Kelly. Now, is there anything I need to know?" She asked.

"Right now nothing Commander," She replied and Shepard nodded before walking forward.

"Follow me." Shepard said, and Naruto did so. After a few seconds, they arrived at the cockpit. The place where Joker was arguing with EDI.

"Do you think that a human being can fly or even throw back an enormous beast without even touching it? I'm telling you; that guy is not a human." Joker said

 **"Mr. Moreau, I assure you that this man is an ordinary human being. Upon entering the ship, the sensors detected that he has all the characteristics of one. It is most likely the he has special abilities as each species have."** EDI replied, and when Joker was about to answer, they heard Shepard clearing her throat.

Joker quickly turned around, but since he Naruto there, decided to remain silent. Though he would never admit it aloud, Naruto intimidated him a lot. "This is the cockpit. What do you need from here?" Shepard asked looking at Naruto, who took a few steps forward and looked down at Joker. "Have we already passed the Mass Relay?"

"Ehm, not yet, in about 2 minutes we'll reach it. What's the reason?" Joker asked.

"You'll see; I just want to see what happens once we go through the Mass Relay," Naruto replied.

Once the time ended, and the ship was close to the Mass Relay, Joker looked at Naruto. "We're here," Joker said.

"Okay, you can go through. What I want to see is what happens once we go completely through the Relay." Naruto replied, so Joker nodded and looked straight ahead before moving the ship forward and going through the Mass Relay, back to the Milky Way.

"Done; we've returned to the Milky Way, Commander," Joker informed Shepard, who nodded before seeing Naruto looking out the left window.

She saw him nodding, so she decided to look at there. "And the Mass Relay? Where did it go?" Shepard asked looking at Naruto, and Joker upon hearing this raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked at there.

Naruto decided to answer her question. "As you know, that Mass Relay had suddenly appeared in your galaxy. I placed it there using a special technique. And since I'm now with you, it's no longer necessary that the Mass Relay continue connecting to my world. Red took care to hide it from my planet since I don't want anyone to go there while I'm out. Just because they would be traveling to that place in vain."

"Wait a minute; are you saying that you can control a Mass Relay just like that? Do you know how advanced the technology of the Relays is? Did you know that it can destroy an entire Stellar System if something goes wrong?" Joker asked incredulously.

"Yeah; I've seen in first-hand what the destruction of a Mass Relay can cause. The Reapers once tried to destroy my world destroying a Mass Relay. That's why my Stellar System has a single planet. Nevertheless, they could do nothing because of the barrier that I had placed around my planet; it was during the cycle of the Protheans. After that, the Reapers stopped trying to destroy my world. They knew that they couldn't destroy me." Naruto replied making Joker even more incredulous.

"How old are you?" He asked sincerely interested. However, Shepard decided to speak. "If you want to know, he will answer all our questions in the Communications Room. Come if you want, and EDI; let the crew know if they wish to hear this."

 **"All right, Commander,"** EDI answered as she informed the crew if they wanted to hear Naruto's story

"By the way, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. Nice to meet you, Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau." Naruto stated, extending his hand to Joker. Joker after hearing that, he rose from his seat to shake hands with Naruto.

"Yeah, but now I want to hear your story. I hope it's half as good from what we've seen you doing on your planet." Joker stated, walking to the communications room.

Naruto then turned around to see Shepard, who motioned him to accompany her. Naruto nodded, and then they headed to the Communications Room, filled with people, who after seeing the Commander besides Naruto, made way for them so they can enter the room.

Shepard and Naruto stood at the opposite end of the table, and there Naruto greeted everyone, and almost everyone returned his greeting. Then he asked. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

Saying this many raised their hands, but Naruto gave the word to Jacob. "Yeah; I wanted to know how you can speak Japanese on your planet. I found it very strange."

"Well, it surely is a coincidence with the language that you call Japanese. And no, I don't have anything to do with the country called Japan even if they speak the same language." Naruto replied, and this surprised Jacob since he had not asked the latter, but Naruto had 'guessed' it.

Shepard at this nudged Naruto's waist while whispering. "I told you to stop doing that. People don't like when other people read their minds without permission."

Naruto after the blow had to rub the spot she hit because it was a very precise hit. Although he was immortal, he could still feel pain. He nervously smiled and nodded.

The others didn't know what their commander told him, but they didn't ask since this time Joker spoke. "Ehm; Naruto, right?" Joker asked seeing a nod from Naruto. "Well, I have two questions. The first one is, how can you do all that shit you did? And the second one is; how old are you?" Joker asked, and many nodded at this, this was what almost everyone wanted to hear.

"My age is ninety-nine thousand seven hundred thirty-four years. I count them not to forget those who were once special to me." Naruto answered, causing everyone who was there open their eyes and jaws in shock.

"But how is that even possible? Not even the asari can live that long." Miranda asked from her place; she was quite interested in the abilities of this man. Maybe he could be a great help for Cerberus, and for that reason, she was listening to this conversation attentively.

"Phew, man. But if you don't seem to have more than 20 years old." Joker spoke again.

Naruto looked at him and answered. "My appearance isn't relevant. I can't get old or die, not until I complete my mission."

This drew everyone's attention, so one of those who were there asked him what type of mission it was. "Before I tell you my mission; I'll tell you my story. It may be long, so I warn you that we'll be here for a long time." Naruto actually had no problem to tell them his history and secrets. What could these people do with this kind of information? Although it might sound arrogant from his part, he could just destroy anyone who tried to mess with him. Besides, he could easily detect if anyone dared to do so.

"It all started several years ago. The day of my birth..." Then he told them the story of the Kyūbi's attack, of how he was the outcast of his village. Hated and despised most of his childhood. Of how when he was just six years old, he fell into a secret organization in his village lead by a man who wanted to use him as his personal weapon. But over time, this man raised him as a son.

He commented that his character changed quite a bit for being there, he said that he became colder and more severe regarding several things. But of course, the leader of his village (Sarutobi) then found out that he was there, so he ordered to the head of that organization to remove him immediately from there.

Although it was a little late because he had already changed, he had learned several things during the time he was there, stuff like his Uzumaki lineage, one of the most powerful clans that had existed in his world.

He also said that he went to the ruins of his clan and that he found a spherical object that had been in possession of his family for several years.

Shepard had seen that object in the vision. She wanted to ask him about it, but she just stayed quiet listening with great interest Naruto's story.

He remarked about an organization that wished to hunt the tailed beasts that existed in his world. He told that he had one, which was that huge beast that everyone had seen, only that at the beginning he was an orange nine-tailed fox.

He spoke about the war against the organization after he had killed almost everyone in said organization. Moreover, because of the training and the ideas he had received while he was still a child, he didn't stand still doing nothing. He went in search of the last member after this one had declared the war against the world.

He said he had a very tough battle because an unexpected enemy had appeared, but he ended up victorious after several hours of intense fighting. After Naruto had defeated that man, he very graphically told how he had ripped out his eyes before implanting them in himself (Rinnegan), to fulfill a promise he had made to his tailed beast, which was to make him the most powerful Bijū.

At that time he didn't care about the other beasts, he had simply erased their consciousness with the help of the Apple of Eden and merged their power in his Bijū, causing Kurama to suffer the changes that everyone had seen when they were on his planet.

After that, nothing happened for several years in his world, people had chosen Naruto as their leader since he had a talent for it. Besides for having defeated alone the organization that wanted to dominate his world.

Nevertheless, as time passed, the Reapers arrived. He told about how their invasion took them by surprise, but they managed to repel the first wave. However, when the large fleets arrived, they started dropping like flies. He could not save them all, even with all his power, and for that reason, he had to use the last resort to eliminate the Reapers.

After that, Naruto briefly commented about his conversation with the Shinigami, Shepard's arrival on his planet, and the reason he had joined them.

"Wow. So, were there more people like you? Capable of performing all those crazy attacks?" Joker asked surprised.

"Not everyone could do what I can do, some of them were normal, for Shinobi standards. A few were different from the others, and I was one of them." Naruto replied.

"Commander, I think we should send him to a Cerberus base so they can analyze him. Maybe we can use that chakra that he described if we can extract it a bit from him to implant it into humans." Miranda recommended.

For some reason, Shepard felt some anger at those words, she didn't like the idea of Cerberus analyzing Naruto, but Naruto spoke before her. "That won't be possible; no one besides me can use chakra," Naruto answered.

"Why do you say that?" Jacob asked, though he didn't agree with Miranda, he could not deny that it would be interesting to perform one of those elemental attacks.

"None of you have chakra networks. In the hypothetical case that you can implant my chakra into you, you would inevitably die. There's a whole story behind it. About the creator of the Shinobi world and a few other things. Right now, I don't feel like continuing; I may say it another day. But for now, I need something else... And urgently." Naruto answered

"What do you want?" Shepard asked looking at him. Naruto scratched his head nervously and replied. "Uhm... Well, you see, I'm a man, and I have my needs... You know." Naruto stated a bit embarrassed; most people could understand what he meant, and for that reason, they could not help blushing or laughing.

"Can't you wait a little longer?" Shepard asked pushing away the blush on her face.

Naruto smiled at this. "Well, yes I can. If I already waited for a few..." and then Naruto began counting with his fingers. "Well, it was long ago." Naruto finished with a laugh.

Shepard then sighed and said. "Okay everyone, return to your stations. The meeting is dismissed." After that, everyone nodded and did what Shepard said.

"Joker, head to Omega. We need to find our new recruits." Joker nodded and went back to the cockpit. Shepard then turned around to look at Naruto. "You will find what you're looking for on Omega. Just try to go unnoticed, that place is dangerous. Try not to do anything flashy."

"I will if anyone tries to attack you, Commander," Naruto replied, and Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Well, you are the only reason that I left my planet. If something happens to you, then I'll have to return to my planet. I can't let anything bad happen to you. It's something that I can't allow." Naruto stated firmly and with a serious face, which made her blush slightly.

Nonetheless, Shepard shook her head quickly. What was wrong with her? She shouldn't be acting as if she were in front of a superstar, a very handsome superstar. _"What the hell is happening to me?"_ Shepard asked herself, but she believed that Naruto would read her mind again, but he didn't because he still held the determined look.

"Well, don't think that I don't know how to defend myself; I don't need anyone protecting me. I know how to take care of myself." Shepard replied as she walked out of the room to go to the galaxy map and set course to Omega.

Naruto smiled but said nothing as he also came out of the communications room before looking in more detail at the ship. Even though he had seen all kinds of ships when he was waiting for living beings to go to his planet. Naruto could not deny that he liked to see what technology could achieve.

He had so many things on his mind to improve the ship, but he had to be sure if the changes that he wanted to implement would not be a problem. Maybe he and EDI could talk to get her opinion regarding it.

After that, he went near the galaxy map to see Shepard setting course. He also realized that the woman at his right glanced at him, so Naruto winked at her causing her to blush. However, she returned to work and Naruto just mentally laughed due to her reaction. He still liked doing that in women. After all these years, he still hadn't lost his touch.

Shepard noticed Naruto's presence, so she told him what their primary mission was right now. Although Naruto knew everything, Shepard decided to give him information, after all, Naruto had already given much.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Chapter finished, I hope you liked the chapter.**

**Well, I'll quickly explain a few things. Yes, Naruto is immortal; he can't die. However, don't think because of that, things will be easy for him, you will see what I have in mind in the future. There won't be much action, for now, so wait until things get rough.**

**The small fight between Kurama and Naruto. Yes, Naruto might sound a bit arrogant, but he was only bothering Kurama. They have not seen each other for a long time, and he just wanted to joke around with his friend. And Naruto put him in the Gedō Mazō with his consent, so Kurama can increase his power gathering much more Natural energy than he would be outside and since Naruto slept for some time; he told Naruto that put him in there.**

**I summarized the story of Naruto, it is a bit like "A demon in the shadows" but I clarify that it's not the same, is very different as some might realize.**

**Now I want to ask a question. Do you want this to be a NarutoxShepard? Or maybe a TalixNarutoxShepard? It is just that I don't like seeing Tali with Garrus ¬ ¬. I like Garrus, but Tali ... Tali :(**

**But hey, I don't want to force you to choose anything; let me know about it in the reviews.**

**Oh yeah, and if you want me to update this more often. Well, let's see how popular this fic is. I'm now focusing on "A demon in the shadows." If you have not read it yet, you can have some idea of the powers of Naruto, though of course the past of Naruto in this fic is very different from the other one. Although they have some things in common**

**And don't forget to add me on Facebook. The link is on my bio.**

**Greetings to all.**


	3. Chapter 2

Organic being talking. "Hello"

Organic being thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

**Before starting, remember to read my notes. Some annoying people are asking things that I already explained in my notes. So read them before asking pleaaaaase! And again thanks to everybody for your reviews!**

* * *

** Chapter 2. **

** Two days later. **

Two full days had passed since that day when Naruto boarded the Normandy for the first time. Although Shepard had intended to go to Omega as soon as possible, they could not do so because they had run out of fuel halfway thanks to the journey they had to Naruto's planet.

Besides, they had taken advantage of that to top up their probes supply to explore and extract resources from some of the planets that were on the Terminus Systems.

Shepard had also taken the time to learn more about Naruto, and discovered that he was a very charismatic and wise person. He was a person with whom one could talk for hours without realizing how much time had elapsed.

Though Shepard was not the only person to speak to him, many crewmembers, as Joker and Jacob, did it too.

Once they had finished collecting the resources, they had headed to Omega. Shepard had chosen Jacob and Naruto for the mission, the latter to see if he could adapt himself to the situations of her world to decide whether to include him in future missions. Moreover, Shepard wanted that Miranda stayed on the ship because she wished to see a little more the skills of Naruto; she wanted to know what else he could do.

"All right, we arrived at Omega ... Remember Naruto, nothing flashy." Shepard said in front of the exit gate of the Normandy.

Hearing what Shepard said, Naruto could not help smiling. "Okay, Commander. As long as they don't try anything against you." Naruto replied.

Shepard sighed at this and then she checked her equipment one last time. Then the gate of the ship opened and then they entered on Omega.

They slowly walked through a corridor, which had several windows. Shepard was ahead while the other two men of her team followed her from behind.

After 10 seconds of being walking, someone who Naruto could recognize as a salarian, who smiled and opened his arms when seeing Shepard, intercepted them.

"Ah! Welcome to Omega. You're new here, aren't you? I can always tell... Allow me to-" The salarian said rapidly, but he could not finish because another strange creature with a brown armor and with four black eyes interrupted him.

"Oh. Hello, Moklan. I was just-" The salarian spoke hastily again, nervously looking at the newcomer. Naruto could recognize him by Shepard's memories as a batarian, but he just stood silently watching everything.

"Leave, Fargut. Now." Moklan ordered with a hoarse and threatening voice to the nervous Salarian, who quickly nodded and ran away.

Moklan then looked back at the front, more specifically to Shepard. "Blasted scavengers. Welcome to Omega, Shepard." Greeted the batarian bowing his head slightly.

Shepard upon hearing this crossed her hands behind her back and asked. "You know who I am?"

"Of course. We had you tagged the moment you entered the Terminus Systems. You're not as subtle as you think. Aria wants to know what brings a dead Spectre to Omega. I suggest you go to Afterlife now and present yourself." Moklan answered.

Shepard wrinkled her face and did a stop sign. "Cut the attitude. I'm not here to cause problems for Omega." She refuted.

Moklan chuckled and replied as he made gestures with his hands. "Things explode around you, Shepard. You can't blame Aria for keeping an eye on you... Afterlife. Now." And with that said, Moklan turned around and left.

Naruto when hearing what that man said could not help but chuckle, and Shepard noticed it, but she did not pay much attention. Hence, she gestured the others to follow her, and everyone walked forward.

When they were near the end of the corridor, they saw a man in an orange armor with white and tattooed arms; giving a knee in the stomach to a batarian, who wore quite dated clothes.

The batarian, when feeling the blow, fell on the floor, growling due to the pain. Then the batarian sat on the ground, resting his back on the wall as he looked at Shepard. "Please... You have to help me."

"No one said you could talk, jackass." Replied the man giving him a punch in his head.

"You Zaeed Massani?" Shepard asked the man.

The man upon hearing this turned around and nodded. "Yeah, that's me. You must be the Commander Shepard. I hear we have a galaxy to save." Zaeed replied.

Shepard approached Zaeed while saying. "Good to have you, Zaeed. We have a lot to do." She added shaking hands.

"That's what they tell me," Zaeed answered as he grabbed his gun from his holster after finishing the greeting with Shepard. Then he turned around and motioned with the weapon to the batarian to get up. "I assume the Illusive Man told you about our arrangement," Zaeed asked.

"No. I guess he decided to leave that information out of the dossier." Shepard answered.

"Good thing I asked," Zaeed added as he looked at Shepard before approaching her.

"Picked up a mission a little while back, just before I signed on with Cerberus. Though you might be interested. You heard the name Vido Santiago? He's the head of the Blue Suns. Runs the whole organization. Seems he recently captured an Eldfell-Ashland refinery on Zorya and is using their workers for slave labors. The company wants it dealt with." Zaeed said.

"I'll make sure we get that done," Shepard replied.

"Good. Get it out of the way so we can concentrate on being big goddamn heroes." Zaeed added sarcastically; then he looked back at batarian who upon seeing this quickly ran toward the direction in which Shepard and the others had come.

Zaeed at this quickly pointed his gun at the batarian's leg and fired once. But the bullet never reached the batarian since it stopped by a barrier that appeared just behind the Batarian, who had suddenly stopped by some force.

"There is no reason to shoot him," Naruto stated quietly and with crossed arms.

Shepard upon hearing this understood what had happened, and she could not help but squint. What part of 'nothing flashy' did he not understand?

Zaeed at this voice looked at Naruto before getting closer to him. Then he looked him carefully into his eyes. "Hmmm... You are not what you seem to be. You're a murderer. Why do you care what I do with this batarian?" Zaeed asked looking at Naruto straight in his eyes, and Naruto stared back.

"There is no reason for us to fight among ourselves. We all have a common enemy. And killing each other would decrease our firepower only." Naruto replied wisely.

Zaeed smiled but shook his head. "Well, okay. I'm not stupid. I can tell by your eyes that you're not playing. Still, I must take him. Can't leave my work unfinished."

Naruto nodded and released the barrier, stopping his containment on the batarian, who instantly fell to his knees. "Okay; I can't deny you that. Take him away." Naruto replied.

Zaeed smiled again; he did not know this guy at all. However, that look in his eyes told him he was extremely powerful and dangerous. He could feel it; it was strange. And he could say that he liked it. Then he reached down and grabbed the batarian to take him elsewhere.

After that, Shepard came out of the end of the hall to turn a corner, there they saw a door with a strange green circle.

"Naruto, remember this well... Nothing flashy." Shepard said; she knew that she was a bit annoying. Nevertheless, she did not want to risk having Naruto destroying the whole place just because someone decided to mock his clothes or something like that. However, after thinking the latter, she wanted to facepalm herself.

"Okay; I'll change my clothes, Commander," Naruto said as he had read Shepard's mind 'unintentionally.'

Shepard upon hearing this quickly turned around. "It's not necessary. We don't have time..." And she could not finish because she saw that a kind of white beam surrounded Naruto, more specifically where his clothes were. Then it dissipated, revealing Naruto's new clothes.

Now he wore armor that was mostly of white color and black in some places. He still had those strange commas, but now on the arms. And on his back were... 2 Swords? They were red and shined a little bit at the ends.

Shepard when seeing the change nodded and said. "Well, now you'll pass more unnoticed… And stop reading my mind." She said with a sigh but then turned around to touch something at the door, which made a noise and then it opened.

"Man, you must teach me how to do that," Jacob said looking at Naruto surprised.

Naruto smiled and replied. "We shall see."

Then they walked to the front, ignoring the stares from some people who seemed to know Shepard. They went up some stairs and reached the entrance of Afterlife. There the guards let them pass without any problems.

So they just continued their way through the hall before reaching Afterlife, only to be stopped by three batarians who stood in their way (all were well-armed). "What are you looking at?" The one who was in the front asked Shepard with an arrogant look.

Shepard upon hearing this looked him straight in his eyes. "Don't you have something better to do than to pick fights with people you don't know?" Shepard asked quite dangerously.

The batarian growled and answered. "No. Just the ones who get in my face."

Shepard then took her gun from her holster and examined it while saying. "You see my gun. Do you really want to do this?" She asked threateningly, and Naruto could not help smiling slightly.

"I... Fine. You're off the hook... For now. See you around." The batarian replied already intimidated; then they walked toward the entrance of Afterlife.

"Good way of intimidation without resorting to violence, Commander," Naruto stated with a half-smile.

Shepard smiled as she kept her gun. "The batarians on Omega are likely to get too smart for their own good. You must show them that you are willing to go until the end. I won't let them intimidate me just because I'm a woman. Anyway, let's enter to Afterlife." Shepard replied before walking forward again.

And the more they approached, the more they could hear the music. Until after a few seconds, Shepard stood before another door and again pressed the green circle, causing the door to open at high speed.

Now the music sounded with a lot louder and Naruto seeing the place was frankly surprised. The lights, the scenery. Everything was new to him. He had never seen anything like this in the Elemental Nations.

He smiled at the asari that were dancing on a circular platform, and in the middle of said platform, there was a kind of hologram or something like that, showing other dancing asari. Shepard could notice Naruto smiling, so she spoke. "Hey, wait a minute; let's talk to the manager of this place and after that you will do whatever you want," Shepard said looking at Naruto, who upon hearing this stopped since he was approaching to get a better look.

He stopped halfway, turning around while nervously scratching his head. "Aaah, I just thought..." But he could not finish because Shepard started walking towards where the manager was.

Naruto sighed in defeat and started walking. "Wow... Who would have said that the Commander would tame the strongest man in the universe so fast?" Jacob asked with a smile looking at Naruto.

Naruto smiled as well and replied. "I learned long ago that you have to let women have control. It turns out better."

Jacob smiled at this; then they heard their commander asking if they would come or not. So in order of not pissing her off, they quickly followed her.

They walked around the platform until they reached the stairs. Shepard went up and saw several batarians guards and some turians while climbing. After she climbed the first stairs, she instantly turned to the right to try to climb the last stairs.

Nonetheless, she could not do it because the guards quickly drew their weapons out, and Naruto took this as a hostile gesture. And before anyone could say anything, all the guards and the asari who was at the top of the stairs, had fallen to the floor, as they suddenly had felt that something had surrounded them, drawing them to the floor.

That surprised everyone, even more to those who were affected by the pressure since they never before had felt anything like this, besides they could not stand up. Shepard knew who was doing this, so she quickly turned around and exclaimed. "Naruto! Calm down! They won't do anything to me! They are just cautious!" Shepard shouted trying to calm Naruto down, who had a serious expression on his face and crossed arms.

Nevertheless, Shepard noticed that the expression on Naruto's face softened, and then she saw that everyone quickly stood up. And since everyone could hear what Shepard had said, now everyone knew who had been responsible.

"You bastard!" Shouted a batarian that was in front of Naruto as he pulled out his rifle and fired a burst. Some of his colleagues did the same as it took them aback. The asari who was at the top started shouting them to stop, but it looked like that they did not hear her as they just continued shooting.

Shepard could only sigh, and Jacob looked surprised at how the bullets passed through Naruto, who was looking at his nails with a bored expression.

After a few seconds of being 'dodging bullets', Naruto sighed and said. "Well, forgive me. I didn't want to do that. I just detected a hostile situation, and I decided that I had to defend my Commander." Naruto stated, looking at the guards who were looking at him with wide eyes.

Not even a single bullet had hit him, and he had not even moved an inch from his place. "Es el diablo." A human guard who was there said.

"All of you enough already!" The asari exclaimed approaching her men. Then she looked down at Shepard and said. "Shepard, control your guy if you don't want me to kick you out!" The asari exclaimed, her name was Aria T'Loak.

"Yes, forgive him, he still doesn't adapt well to situations; I'll talk with him on the ship," Shepard replied with a look of reproach at Naruto, who was nervously smiling.

Aria nodded pleased and ordered one of her guards to approach to Shepard. And quickly he began to examine her with his Omni-tool. Shepard did not complain and allowed him to do it.

Meanwhile, Aria was subtly looking at Naruto; there was no doubt that what he had done caught her attention. Especially what he had so that the bullets couldn't hurt him. She had clearly seen how the bullets hit him and then passed through him like if he was a mere hologram. It was quite interesting, and maybe she could hire him. If so, she would have much more control over Omega.

However, Shepard was there; she would deal with her later, maybe they could reach an agreement. After all, she was Aria T'Loak.

Hence, she only continued staring at her club in front of the balcony, just to hear her guard saying. "She's clean."

Aria nodded and heard Shepard say. "I was told you're the person to talk to if I have questions ..."

Aria turned around with a serious look. "Depends on the questions."

"You run Omega?" Shepard asked, just to be sure.

Aria at this laughed arrogantly. "I am Omega…" She said turning around to look at the club as she opened her arms.

Then she lowered them and approached Shepard again. "But you need more. Everybody needs more something. And they all come to me..."

She then started walking around Shepard while saying. "I'm the boss, CEO, Queen if you're feeling dramatic. It doesn't matter. Omega has no titled ruler and only one rule."

She then sat down on the couch and sentenced with a cocky grin. "Don't fuck with Aria..."

Naruto smiled at this; there were certainly people who called enough his attention. And this woman was no exception. She was also hot in his eyes.

"Sounds like neither of us likes being jerked around," Shepard replied.

"And on your ship that would matter. Here, we entertain my preferences." She replied and motioned Shepard to sit on the couch at her right.

Shepard did so and crossed her leg. "So, what can I do for you?" Aria asked looking at Shepard.

Upon hearing this, Shepard nodded and asked about the location of Mordin Solus. Aria did not refuse and answered all the questions of Shepard, who nodded pleased for getting the location of the Salarian doctor who would help them fight the seeker swarms of the Collectors.

After that, Shepard asked about the location of Archangel, and what she heard did not please her much. "No, I'm putting a team together; he is on my list," Shepard answered after Aria asked if she was going to kill him.

"Interesting... You're going to make some enemies teaming up with Archangel. That's assuming you can get to him. He's in a bit of trouble right now." Aria added.

"Just tell me how to find him," Shepard replied abruptly.

Aria smiled slightly but continued. "The local merc groups are recruiting anyone with a gun to help them take down Archangel."

"Sounds like that might be our ticket in," Jacob said from his place with a smile looking at Naruto, who smiled back and nodded.

"They're using a private room for recruiting. Just over there. I'm sure they'll sing you up." Aria stated indicating Shepard the place, and with an obvious guess.

"I appreciate the help," Shepard thanked.

"See if you still feel that way when the mercs realize you're here to help him," Aria replied with a smile.

"Well, I gotta go," Shepard said standing.

Nevertheless, Aria quickly caught her attention. "Wait Commander... I also have a few questions." Aria said.

Shepard upon hearing this raised a confused eyebrow, but nodded. "What do you want to know?" Shepard asked, expecting a question concerning her being alive.

"Get closer please," Aria said motioning with her fingers while smiling at Naruto.

Shepard looked suspiciously at Aria, especially because she was giving Naruto a rather seductive smile. Naruto nodded and began to move toward them with his hands behind his back.

Once he was close, Aria gently patted next to her, Naruto did not object and did so. "What do you want, Aria-san?" Naruto asked with respect.

Aria knew the term that Naruto used to address her. After all, she was an Asari with several years. "Oh. So are you from that country called Japan from the planet Earth?" Aria asked with a smile.

Naruto upon hearing this smiled back and shook his head. "No; I'm not from there. Moreover, I'm not even from this galaxy." Naruto replied sincerely.

But Aria at this laughed openly, but then she stopped since Naruto, the Commander and Jacob had quite serious expressions on their faces. "No... Really? Are you not from this galaxy?" Aria asked confused.

Naruto nodded. "Well, that makes things much more attractive," Aria stated, reducing a little more the distance with Naruto.

Shepard after seeing that got tired and said. "Okay, Naruto; it's time to continue our mission." Shepard interrupted with a serious look.

However, Aria didn't agree with this. "Commander... Let me talk for a few minutes alone with your man." Aria said with a serious look. What she really wanted was that Naruto worked for her as one of her men. He would definitely help her rule without problems on Omega. She knew that there were people who disagreed with her being the ruler of this place, and with someone like Naruto, she would not have to worry about that anymore.

Shepard returned the same expression, and she was about to refuse when she heard a laugh from Naruto. "Haha, come on, Commander. Don't worry about me. I would also like to talk to Aria-'chan'" Naruto said with a smile without looking away from Aria, who upon hearing how Naruto called her, smiled... Yes, he was already falling to her charms.

Naruto knew what Aria wanted to do, but it was a shame that she would not get it. But maybe he could release the tension that he had accumulated for so long in her.

"Okay; do what you want," Did Shepard reply angrily? But hey, it wasn't as if she cared.

She then turned around and said to Jacob. "Let's go." Jacob nodded, but Naruto spoke again.

"But wait, Commander; I can be here and with you at the same time," Naruto said now looking at Shepard, who upon hearing this turned around and raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Then everyone saw amazed how what looked like wood started coming off Naruto's body. After a few seconds, it took shape into Naruto, widening the eyes of those who had not seen this technique yet.

After Naruto had created the clone, he walked slowly toward Shepard to stand beside her. "Shall we continue with our mission, Commander?" The clone quietly asked, ignoring the looks that the others were giving him.

Shepard just turned around and walked downstairs. The clone took this as a yes and followed her along with Jacob.

Aria was surprised by what she had seen, but then she shook her head and said. "Oh well, you're certainly fascinating. But tell me… Naruto, right?" Aria asked as she stroked Naruto's face, who was smiling only.

Naruto nodded, Aria smiled back and continued. "Tell me, Naruto... What is someone like you doing with someone like Shepard?" Aria asked keeping her stroking.

"The Commander has a mission, and I decided to help her to complete said mission," Naruto replied, grabbing Aria's hand to put it down.

Aria upon seeing this smiled and stood up. "What do you say if we take this pleasant conversation to somewhere else?" Aria asked coquettishly, using her skills as a former dancer.

Naruto smiled at that and stood up as he followed Aria, who walked downstairs to continue walking forward. There a door opened, but Naruto did not care and just followed Aria. He knew what she wanted to do. Nonetheless, it was not as if he cared.

Back to the Commander, she and her team were currently boarding an X3M vehicle.

After talking with the mercenary recruiter for the Blue Suns, Shepard had gone to where a soldier of the Blue Suns was waiting for them to send them to where Archangel was.

The entire trip, Shepard walked in a hurry as if she wanted to complete the mission as soon as possible. But the others didn't pay much attention to it. Maybe, she wanted to finish with the other pending missions that she had to continue her primary mission, which was to destroy the Collectors.

So they also boarded the vehicle along with Shepard, and once everyone was on board, the ship took off and went where Archangel was.

The trip was strangely silent; no one even said the slightest word. All were quiet, saying nothing... Which was weird, first because Naruto didn't like being quiet, and secondly because Naruto thought that Shepard or even Jacob would ask him questions, but they did not. Therefore, the clone also remained silent.

Until after 15 minutes, they arrived at their destination. The vehicle door automatically opened, and Shepard did not wait that the skycar landed. She just jumped to get off the ship, and the others also imitated her.

Just when everyone touched the ground, a Batarian of the Blue Suns appeared. "It's about time they sent me someone who looks like they can actually fight." The Batarian said; his name was Salkie.

Shepard and others upon hearing this turned to look at the Batarian, who continued. "They tell you what we're up against?" He asked.

"Just tell us where to go," Shepard replied with a serious look.

"Archangel's holed up in a building at the end of the boulevard over there. He's got a superior position, and the only way in is over a very exposed bridge. It's a killing ground. But he's getting tired, making mistakes. We'll have him soon enough." Salkie added.

"I'll get to him. Just point me at that bridge." Shepard replied flatly.

"I like your attitude, but we've got a plan in place. You'll be on a distraction team. Head straight over the bridge and keep Archangel busy so the infiltration team can sneak behind him." Salkie replied.

"Are you trying to kill us?" Naruto asked with a straight face.

"Pretty much. But you look like you can handle it." Salkie replied with a shrug. However, he continued instantly. "Head up to the boulevard and get to the third barricade. Talk to Sergeant Cathka. He'll tell you when to go in."

Shepard nodded and finished. "I better go find Sergeant Cathka."

"Good idea... Watch yourself on the boulevard. Archangel's killed dozens out there already." With that said, Salkie walked away.

"Hehehehe. Well, Commander; time to go and kick some asses." Naruto stated with a smile and cracking his knuckles.

Shepard did not answer; she just started walking forward, which made that both men in her team raised an eyebrow. Naruto did not want to read her mind since Shepard had already made her point of view clear.

What he did know was that she was angry, and he knew the motive but not the reason. So he just sighed... women.

Hence, he followed her as well as Jacob, who could not help smiling. Without a doubt, this trip was being entertaining.

They walked around the place. Naruto saw Shepard speaking very rudely to the people who were there. She requested information; she asked them who they were and that stuff. Naruto just kept watching her.

After Shepard had spoken to all the leaders of each organization, she walked into a room, place where many Mechs of all kinds were.

She hacked them and left the room before going where Cathka should be.

Upon arrival, they saw four men standing guard where Cathka was, who at this time was repairing the A-61 Mantis Gunship.

"Cathka?" Shepard asked. The human man in the middle pointed back, and they gave way so Shepard and the others can pass. They did so and approached at Cathka.

Cathka; a Batarian, noticing her presence, stopped and turned around. "Sergeant Cathka," he proudly said by the rank he possessed.

Then he pressed something on his helmet and the polarized mask of the same went up. "Ah. You must be the group Salkie mentioned. You're just in time." Cathka said.

"Were you waiting for us?" Shepard asked.

Cathka nodded and continued. "The infiltration team is about to give us the signal. Archangel won't know what hit him." Cathka stated with a smirk as he walked through the small space that he had before placing on a table the soldering gun that he had been using before.

Then he turned around to see Shepard in front of him as he lit a cigarette. "Got any questions? This may be your last chance." Cathka asked releasing the smoke.

Shepard put the smoke on her face aside and asked. "Are you leading the assault?"

"Ha! They don't pay me enough. I just plan the attacks and fix the damn gunship. You freelancers get the privilege of..." Nonetheless, he could not finish because someone in the display that was on the table said that everyone had the green light to attack.

Cathka quickly approached at the screen and replied. "Check... Bravo team - go, go, go!" By saying this, the freelancers outside moved quickly towards the bridge to perform the plan, a suicidal one to be clear.

Cathka then smiled and said, stepping away from the screen to look at Shepard. "Archangel's got quite a surprise waiting for him. But that means no more waiting for me." He then lowered his polarized mask to continue his work. "Gotta get her back to a hundred percent before Tarak decides he needs her again." Shepard at this looked at soldering gun on the table.

She smiled and grabbed it as she approached Cathka before giving a pat his back. "You're working too hard..." With that said, Shepard smiled one last time before nailing the soldering gun in Cathka's back, who could only scream and squirm as he felt the electric shock through his body.

He fell to his knees before falling dead to the ground. She then calmly walked out of there and with a smile on her face, just to be received by Naruto's severe expression. "Commander; that was unnecessary," Naruto said with a reproachful look.

Shepard upon hearing this frowned and replied. "Oh yeah? I don't care what you think. Remember that I am the one who is in charge, NOT you." She said hitting Naruto's chest with her finger.

"If you don't want to follow my orders, return to your planet. I don't care; I don't need you here." Shepard stated angrily and walked away toward the bridge.

Naruto and Jacob looked at each other in surprise. However, Naruto was tired; he was no longer a child, and he would not accept a child's tantrum. Therefore, he practically disappeared from Jacob's sight to appear in an instant in front of Shepard, holding her arms and stopping her halfway. "Listen carefully, Commander. You're right, you're in charge, and I won't deny you that. However, stop acting like a brat. Tell me, what is the reason for your anger?" Naruto asked with a commanding voice, which surprised Shepard slightly.

"I'm not angry," Shepard replied without looking away.

"Commander. I'm old enough; I have much more experience than you have in these things. You can't fool me; tell me, what is the reason for your anger?" Naruto asked again.

"Get off me! I'm not angry." Shepard replied pushing Naruto back. When she felt free, she walked forward again.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Are you angry because the Boss is sleeping with Aria?" Naruto asked, and this made Shepard instantly stop. She clenched her fists but continued walking.

Seeing her reaction, Naruto spoke again. "Commander... I'm afraid that I can't reciprocate your feelings if you came to develop some towards me. I don't know, and I don't want to find it out. I just want to tell you that I didn't come here to enter into a loving relationship. My mission is to destroy the Reapers; I can't do anything more than that. I'm sorry." Naruto sentenced, causing Shepard feel a stab in the heart.

She had been a fool. She did not know if she was in love with Naruto. Maybe it was admiration for what she had seen him doing, or maybe love due to the times she saw him devastated in the vision and thus she wanted to support him. She was confused.

Maybe it was admiration or maybe it was love. Goddamn it! How could this happen to her? The fucking savior of the Citadel! And she was suddenly having the behavior of a teenage brat. She just could not understand it; she had never thought about having a relationship. She always thought that she would dedicate herself exclusively to her career as a soldier of the Alliance.

Although she barely knew Naruto, something made her feel attracted to him, maybe it was the aura that she felt when she was near him. That aura that conveyed safety, strength, warmth, and many other positive feelings. It was strange, and Shepard could not explain how she could feel something like that.

Surely, Naruto was so powerful that he could not contain all his power and for that reason, people could feel that, or maybe it was not. But then again, how could she possibly understand something like that?

Nevertheless, it was not the time to think about that, if they continued delaying, their recruit could die. Hence, she put her hand on her hip and grabbed the shotgun that was there to point it forward and start walking. "Enough already; time to continue this mission," Shepard said with a commanding voice.

Naruto smiled and nodded in satisfaction; she was right; there was no time to be fooling around. Thus, he followed her.

He would not intervene, at least not now. Naruto wanted to see Shepard's skills; he still had not seen them, and he was interested.

Jacob also followed them, although he found the discussion between the Commander and Naruto entertaining, now he turned serious to continue the mission. Hence, he pulled out his gun and walked behind them.

They came to a barricade and passed it over to the bridge. There they saw that several freelancers were shooting at a building that was at the end of the bridge. Presumably where Archangel was.

Shepard looked back at her team. They all nodded and then Shepard prepared herself.

Naruto then carefully looked at what Shepard wanted to do, and the next thing he saw surprised him. He saw that Shepard surrounded herself with her biotic cloak and instantly moved to an impressive speed in a straight-line, leaving behind her a trail of light blue. She solidly hit the back of one of the freelancers, who died instantly due to the powerful attack.

His companion noticed this and quickly turned around, but Shepard was faster, and before the other one could do something, he had already died due to an accurate shot of Shepard's shotgun right in his stomach.

After that, Shepard quickly turned around to cover her hand with her biotic power and launch an attack that completely wrapped another freelancer who tried to attack her from behind.

The freelancer floated against his will, and Shepard when seeing the opportunity drew her pistol out and gave an accurate shot in his head, killing him instantly. After that, the freelancer's body fell into the emptiness.

"Wow; you're definitely amazing, Commander," Naruto stated approaching at Shepard after Jacob and Shepard have finished with the freelancers on the bridge. He did not do anything; Jacob and Shepard were the ones responsible for this.

"I told you that I didn't need you to protect me," Shepard replied with a smile.

Naruto smiled back but then saw that Shepard turned serious and started running towards the building at the end of the bridge.

Naruto and Jacob followed her since it seemed that there were still some freelancers trying to reach Archangel.

So after a while, they came to the building, it had neither doors nor windows. Therefore, it was easy for them to enter.

Shepard went up a ramp; she took her shotgun out from her hip, but she kept it again since she saw Naruto over the body of one of the freelancers. "How did you arrive so fast? You were right behind us." Shepard asked.

Naruto did not answer with words he did it with actions. Shepard saw Naruto entering into a kind of swirling distortion before reappearing in the same swirling beside her. "Forgive me Commander, but I went ahead since didn't want you to kill them. I don't see the need to do it." Naruto replied.

Shepard looked at him hearing this but then shrugged. "Okay; maybe you're right. But are you sure you that they won't wake up and be a problem for us?" She asked.

"Please Commander; I trust my skills," Naruto replied with a small smile.

Shepard smiled back, but then she shook her head and walked forward to look for her recruit.

They didn't try to open the door that the freelancers were attempting to open since it just unlocked when they approached.

Shepard entered first, and she saw a man in blue armor with a helmet of the same color, aiming his sniper rifle from the window that overlooked the bridge. "Archangel?" Shepard asked.

Archangel upon hearing this made a stop sign while beginning to point to some place with his sniper rifle before shooting right in the head of a freelancer who believed that was safe.

After that, Archangel stood up, and slowly approached the people who called him.

Shepard approached as well as the others, just to see the man taking his helmet off and the person who Shepard saw made her smile. "Shepard... I thought you were dead." Archangel said sitting on a couch in the room.

"Garrus! What are you doing here?" Shepard asked, opening her arms and smiling.

Garrus chuckled and replied. "Just keeping my skills sharp. A little target practice..."

"You okay?" Shepard asked.

Garrus nodded and replied. "Been better, but it sure is good to see a friendly face," He stated with a smile at the end. Then he continued. "Killing mercs is hard work. Especially on my own."

Shepard brought her hand on her neck to start rubbing it. "You nailed me good a couple of times, by the way."

"Concussive rounds only. No harm done. Didn't want the mercs getting suspicious." Garrus replied.

"Uh-huh..." Shepard replied wryly.

"If I wanted to do more than take your shields down, I'd have done it." Garrus replied with a smile but continued. "Besides, you were taking your sweet time. I needed to get you moving."

"Well, we got here, but I don't think getting out will be as easy." Shepard added, but she heard a giggle from Naruto, so she turned around and asked. "Can you get us out of here?" She asked.

"Of course Commander. Do you remember the mark I placed on the ship?" He asked.

Shepard at this slightly opened her eyes and nodded. "Okay; get us out of here," She replied.

Nevertheless, Naruto shook his head and answered. "I could do it... But I don't think your friend wants to get out of here so easily."

Shepard upon hearing this looked at Garrus, who was pointing again toward the bridge that overlooked the building. "Shepard, I don't know how that guy will get us out of here. But I want to do it in an old-fashioned way; I don't like easy ways." Garrus replied waiting to take out more mercs.

"So what do you propose?" Shepard asked.

"They'll slaughter us if we try to get out that way," Garrus replied pointing towards the bridge.

"We can't just sit here and wait for them to come to us," Jacob added.

Garrus nodded. "We'll wait for them to come, we'll end them all and then we'll leave. Now that you are here, it will be easier. It's not a perfect plan, but it's a plan." Garrus replied with a smile looking at Shepard.

"I didn't like sneaking, anyway. Time to spill a little merc blood." Shepard stated with a somewhat malicious smile.

Naruto upon hearing this said nothing, but she reminded him of himself in his youth. Nonetheless, he would not tell Shepard anything about her attitude. He was here to prevent anything bad happening to her, thereby ending the Reapers.

"Glad to see you haven't changed. Let's see what they're up to." Garrus said walking again to the window that overlooked the bridge and Shepard followed him.

When Garrus was close, he lifted his sniper rifle and pointed it at the bridge as he looked through the scope. "Hmm; looks like they know their infiltration team failed. Take a look. Scouts. Eclipse, I think." Garrus said handing his rifle to Shepard, who grabbed it and pointed it at the bridge as she looked through the scope.

Shepard then saw several Mechs approaching. She smiled and pulled the trigger of the rifle, giving an accurate shot in the robotic head of one of the droids.

"More than scouts. One less now, though." Shepard replied with a smile, handing the rifle back to Garrus.

"Indeed… We better get ready. I'll stay up here. I can do a lot of damage from this vantage point. And you, you can do what you do best. Just like old times, Shepard." Garrus said.

Shepard smiled at this and cracked her knuckles. After that, she jumped out the window of the building to go to the ground floor, and there she took cover waiting for the droids, which were already approaching.

Garrus from his place began to shoot, and Shepard shot as well but her pistol while throwing some of her biotic power not to spend so much ammo.

Jacob had come down too, standing a few feet from where Shepard was. He also had thrown his biotic powers to support Shepard.

And Naruto? He was still on the second floor, sitting on a couch doing absolutely nothing, which Garrus noticed. "Hey, are you not going to give us a hand?" Garrus asked while firing at some Mechs.

"Nah, I don't see the need to do so. The Commander is excellent; she alone can handle a few robots. I don't feel the need to intervene." Naruto answered now leaning back on the couch.

Garrus didn't know Naruto; maybe he was not good at firearms since Garrus saw that he had swords on his back. So surely, he was only good in close combat, and most likely, he didn't want to take the risk of getting shot.

Therefore, he just kept shooting until after a few minutes; the Mechs stopped appearing. They sighed in relief and Shepard, and Jacob returned to the second floor.

There they saw Naruto leaning on a couch, with Garrus watching him carefully. However, they did not pay much attention to it, since when they barely went up, they heard something heavy hitting the bridge.

They looked at that site, and they could see a YMIR Mech falling over the bridge. "Oh, this will get tough," Garrus said, pointing toward the bridge again. Nevertheless, Shepard quickly stopped him with a smile. "Don't worry... That problem should take care of itself."

Garrus did not understand what Shepard meant, so he just watched. He saw the Mech standing up, and after that, it began to shoot at the Eclipse mercs who had brought it.

"Haha, I get it," Garrus said watching as the Eclipse mercs tried to destroy the powerful machine, which massacred almost everyone.

Only a few ones remained alive, but Shepard and Garrus ended the survivors, as well as the mech. Just to prevent it from becoming a problem.

Once all of the Eclipse mercs were dead, Garrus turned around and stated. "You're kicking ass, Shepard. They barely touched me. And we got Jaroth in the process. I've been hunting that little bastard for months." Garrus stated with a triumphant smile.

Shepard nodded and continued. "We've still got Blood Pack and the Blue Suns left. Think we can make a break for it?"

"Maybe; let's see what they're up to," Garrus replied turning around. Then he approached and saw through the window that overlooked the bridge. "They've reinforced the other side... heavily. But they're not coming over the bridge yet. What are they waiting for?" Garrus wondered aloud.

Then they heard a loud bang on the ground floor of the building. They all turned their heads back as they heard an alarm sounding in the building. "What the hell was that?" Jacob asked.

Garrus intrigued turned his Omni-tool on as he began to examine it, but suddenly he cursed. "Damn it. They've breached the lower level. Well, they had to use their brains eventually. You'd better get down there, Shepard. I'll keep the bridge clear."

Upon hearing this, Shepard shook her head and looked back at Garrus. "I didn't come all this way to let you die. We'll split up two and two - keep one of my team here." Shepard offered.

"You sure? Who knows what you'll find down there." Garrus replied.

Shepard then looked at Naruto, who was still lying on the couch. "Naruto, stay with Garrus. You know what to do."

Upon hearing this, Naruto gave a thumb up from his place.

Garrus looked with a little askance at Naruto. Nonetheless, he did not argue and just thanked Shepard.

After that, Garrus gave some indications to her. "Go down a level - The basement door is on the west side of the main door, behind the stairs. I'll radio directions if you need help. But you've got to get down there quick. Good luck," with that said everyone drew their weapons out, and they went to their positions.

Shepard and Jacob went to the ground floor, and then they went to the door that Garrus had said while following Garrus instructions, which were to close the shutters before the reinforcements of the Blood Pack arrived.

Naruto was still lying on the couch until he was able to hear some grunts from Garrus. He noticed that Garrus was running out of ammo, besides, many enemies were coming over the bridge. Therefore, he stood up from the couch before approaching to Garrus, who was shooting through the window.

"Need help?" Naruto asked with a smile.

"Yes; I wouldn't mind a hand over here," Garrus replied shooting at some of those who were closer to the building.

"Okay; I'll help you. Just sit around there. I'll be back in a second." Naruto stated, and Garrus was going to tell him to stop joking, so he turned around. However, he no longer saw Naruto there.

He turned to look straight ahead and what he saw left him open-mouthed. He saw a yellow stain moving in zigzag at an impossible speed, hitting the mercs who were approaching, and they all fell to the ground when the said stain barely touched them.

Then he shook his head, only to no longer see Naruto there. "I told you I wouldn't take long." Garrus then turned around in shock. Damn that was fast. He could barely see his moves.

"How the hell did you do that?" Garrus asked, genuinely surprised.

"You'll know later. By the way, my name is Naruto." Naruto said, bowing slightly.

"Garrus," Garrus replied stretching his hand. Naruto accepted the greeting but then saw that Garrus quickly turned around while carrying his finger near his ear. "Yes. Sorry Shepard. That's the last shutter. Then you can return." Garrus said on the radio.

After that, Garrus looked back at the bridge and noticed that no one else was coming. Naruto probably finished them all, he thought. "Are they dead?" Garrus asked looking at the bodies of the people on the bridge.

"No, they're not. They're just unconscious. I didn't see the need for killing them since I don't like killing others anymore. I learned that it was unnecessary." Naruto replied behind Garrus, who merely nodded.

Shepard definitely got an interesting recruit, though he was not going to discuss his views. Everyone had one, and he would not discuss his reason for not killing. Each had their reasons, and he would not discuss them.

Nevertheless, suddenly he heard a very familiar growl, so he went to the back window and the person he saw there put that him on alert.

"Raaaah! Rip them to shreds!" A krogan of the Blood Pack exclaimed while other krogans plus several vorchas entered through a door on the lower level.

The krogan then heard a shot, and at his side was a Vorcha, who received a shot right in his head.

Garrus smiled as he reloaded his rifle after seeing that he had drawn Garm's attention, who growled furiously at the sight of his nemesis.

He then grunted as he grabbed his shotgun and headed toward where Garrus and Naruto were. Meanwhile, Naruto prepared himself to finish them.

Nonetheless, he didn't because he saw that Shepard and Jacob had returned, and both wasted no time and started shooting at the members of the Blood Pack. Shepard repeatedly used her Biotic Charge, taking care of not to stay long among enemies. Thus, when her Biotic Charge recharged, she used it again, cautiously.

Nonetheless, after a few seconds, she and Jacob finished up with the Blood Pack members in the lower level. Thus, they quickly went to the top level to help Garrus. When they arrived, they just saw Garrus over the body of Garm. "Shepard, this guy is quite dangerous," Garrus said looking at Naruto, who was lying on the couch again.

Shepard raised an eyebrow in confusion; although she knew that Naruto was extremely dangerous, she wanted to know why Garrus came to that conclusion. "Why do you say that?" She asked.

Garrus upon hearing this sighed and then looked at Naruto. "I don't know what the hell he did. First, he pointed his hand toward this bastard Garm, and then he left him without barriers and shields. I don't know what the hell he did to him. But he took all his protection down by just pointing his hand at him. Hell, where did you get this guy?" Garrus asked intrigued.

Shepard upon hearing this smiled as she approached Garrus. "I'll tell you on the Normandy," Shepard replied.

Garrus raised an eyebrow at this; he thought that the Collectors destroyed the Normandy years ago. So he was about to ask about it, but he could not because everyone saw a gunship appearing outside the window. "Archangel!" A hoarse voice shouted.

Garrus at this turned back to see, just to receive multiple shots of the machinegun of the gunship all over his body.

Jacob and Shepard realizing that quickly took cover, and Garrus continued receiving shots by the ship. Then he fell to the floor and started to crawl for cover.

"You think you can screw with the Blue Suns!" The angry voice exclaimed through the speakers of the gunship.

Luckily, Garrus shields had resisted most of the impacts, and only a few shots had hit him. Surely, he would come out of this with nothing but a few shots.

"This ends now!" The voice shouted; firing a small missile inside the room, more specifically, where Garrus took cover, and he could do little to avoid being thrown several meters forward due to the impact.

Garrus then fell heavily on the floor, and Naruto from his place cursed himself. He had taken things lightly, and now one of Shepard's friends was severely injured.

Nevertheless, he could still feel life in Garrus, so he rushed to finish this before it was too late.

Therefore, he grabbed one of the swords on his back. Then at a blinding speed, Naruto jumped toward the gunship, while charging Wind Release chakra to the sword before cutting a wing of the ship smoothly.

The shields of the vessel could not resist the attack, and Naruto cut the wing to give the pilot a chance to survive only. If he wanted, he could have destroyed the ship, but he really did not want to kill again.

Then he returned to Shepard's side in his swirling seeing her examining Garrus. "Naruto, get us out of here quickly! He's still alive!" Shepard exclaimed not wanting Garrus to die.

Upon hearing this, Naruto nodded and then walked over to Shepard. Jacob did it also and after a moment, they disappeared in a yellow flash and instantly appeared in the hangar of the ship.

"Commander, is there any infirmary on the ship?" Naruto asked.

Shepard nodded quickly. "Yes, it's in the deck number 3. Follow me; we must take him there immediately." Shepard replied standing up.

However, Naruto shook his head and replied as his hands glowed green. "Don't worry, Commander. I'm already supplying him my energy; he will recover no later than a few hours. I just want to let him rest in the infirmary." Naruto replied stopping using his Medical Ninjutsu.

Shepard did not know what Naruto did; she could only watch in amazement that the wounds of Garrus had already healed once she was close. There were just a few scars on his face due to the explosion. Nevertheless, it was nothing serious. "Amazing..." Shepard whispered, marveling once again after seeing another of Naruto's skills.

"But anyway, Commander. The deck 3 is above us. See you up there. I'll leave Garrus in the infirmary." With that said, Naruto floated with Garrus in his arms, passing through the roof of the ship without problems.

Shepard and Jacob had already learned to restrain their astonishment a bit when seeing Naruto's abilities, but they could not help being surprised at every instance. "That guy doesn't know what it is to be discreet," Jacob stated with a smile after Naruto was gone.

Shepard smiled and sighed. "You're right. Well, I have a pending chat with him. I'm the Commander Shepard, and no one escapes so easily from me." She stated with a smile.

Jacob raised an eyebrow and asked. "Commander… do you? Do you not think that it's too fast?" Jacob asked confused; it was not as if he cared. Nonetheless, they had just met Naruto a few days ago, and he thought it was strange that the Commander has developed feelings for him so quickly.

"That's none of your business, Jacob; I'll solve this. I don't even know what I'm feeling… That's why I must talk with him to clarify all this." With that said, Shepard went to the ship's elevator.

She did not wait for Jacob and pressed the button to go to the Deck 3. After a few moments, the elevator reached the Crew Deck. She entered and walked to the infirmary, hearing the conversation of the crew with the Chef. Nonetheless, she just ignored them.

She then entered the room, only to see Naruto laughing along with the Dr. Chakwas. Thus, Shepard cleared her throat, drawing the attention of both of them.

"Oh, Commander. Good thing you're here." The doctor said with a smile.

"What's going on?" She asked interestedly.

Naruto was the one who replied. "Nothing, Commander. I was just telling the doctor a few stories of my youth. She found them funny."

Shepard dismissed it with her hand. Therefore, she looked at the doctor and asked. "How is Garrus?"

"Oh, it's amazing! He's as good as new as if he never received a single shot. Only that scar on his mouth will remain; I could do an operation, though. But you know how men are with the scars. Most likely he will keep it." The doctor replied looking toward the bed where Garrus was resting.

Shepard nodded pleased at this. Then she looked at Naruto and said. "Naruto, come with me; I want to talk to you."

Naruto at this stopped smiling to put a straight face and answer. "Commander, I already told you..." However, he could not finish because when Shepard turned around he could see a lot of determination in her eyes, the determination that made him want to help her.

Thus, he smiled and nodded. "Alright, Commander. But the talk will have to wait until tomorrow. It seems that the boss decided to spend the night with Aria; apparently, they managed to get along very 'well'… Hehehe."

Shepard upon hearing this had a tic in her eyebrow but did not ask. She turned around and walked away, only to hear a giggle from Naruto. "Hehehe, Boss. You lucky guy; that Aria really knows how to move... Wow." The clone said; clearly wanting to annoy Shepard, who already had a prominent vein on her forehead, but she just kept walking away.

The clone said to top it. "Hey, Commander. The boss wants to know if you can give him a free week; he will return to the ship when you need him. After all, he has..." Nevertheless, the clone could not finish because he saw that Shepard took out the gun from her holster to turn around and shoot at him, just below his crotch.

The doctor and Shepard then saw Naruto's clone falling to the floor as he writhed and he screamed things as he would die of pain, why she shot him in that place, and that he could still feel pain despite being immortal.

Shepard at this widened her eyes; she thought Naruto would dodge it as he was doing it from the beginning. Besides, she believed that if something bad happened to this Naruto, then the other one would suffer the same. But of course, she had no idea how the technique of the clones worked.

Hence, she and the doctor quickly approached Naruto. "I-I'm sorry. I thought you would dodge it." Shepard apologized, only to see Naruto with signs of pain on his face while placing his hands on his crotch.

Nonetheless, Naruto suddenly stopped before touching Shepard's nose with his finger. "You fell..." Naruto said with a smile.

A vein popped out on Shepard's forehead again, and before she could say anything, Naruto spoke. "The boss will return tomorrow, Commander. It's true what I said about him and Aria. After that, you and he will be able to talk all you want. Now I'm leaving, goodbye," and before Shepard could say anything else, she saw that the clone lost shape until turning into a small twig that remained on the floor.

Shepard just sighed and returned to her feet. This time to go to her cabin. It was late, and she was tired. Tired due to many things, and even more because of her stupid emotions and its dirty tricks.

She could not deny that she was jealous. The truth was that she would not have minded much if Naruto slept with another woman. But Aria, Aria was a powerful woman and not just any ordinary woman; she was a woman who could make him change his mind about helping the galaxy, or so she thought.

That's why she was so angry; she did not know what would happen if Naruto decided not to follow her anymore. After all, Naruto was essential to defeat the Reapers, and she would not deny it even if someone put a gun to her forehead.

Once she arrived at her cabin, she took a shower before lying down on her wide bed to get some rest.

She would speak with Naruto the next morning, and after that, she would recruit the last member that was on Omega. Then she would leave this System so that Naruto no longer approached Aria. After that, she would have to see what to do to continue her mission. Maybe she could continue recruiting the others, or maybe she could talk to the council about the Reapers. Anderson had requested her presence at the Citadel, after all.

If Naruto could make the council members see those visions, she was sure that they would cooperate, and if so, then they would be better prepared for the imminent Reaper invasion.

After thinking all that, Shepard fell asleep.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Done.**

**Well, first I want to say this.**

**Many will think I'm forcing much the relationship between Naruto and Shepard. I don't believe it** **. Do you know why?**

**Well, because I think if Shepard knows that someone from far away decides to help her fight against something that could only possibly annihilate them just for her. Leaving aside his home planet all that and more just for her. Besides being someone who** **emits those feelings already described. I think it would be difficult for Shepard resist it.**

**I don't know how the Shepard Female is because I never played with her in Mass Effect (Well, right now I'm playing with her). It was always male. And I felt that Shepard conveyed that he could feel that in people. Their strengths, moods and so on.**

**It was not for nothing he took these tough decisions that could affect positively or negatively in the future. But hey, they're my** **assumptions, and if you're still thinking I'm forcing this, I'll say that this relationship is going to take long before they commit to each other.**

**Don't think that Naruto will open his arms and recite poems to Shepard in the next chapter. No, he will tell her the same if not worse than his clone told her. But hey, I won't give more spoilers.**

**Let's pass to the other. Naruto fucked Aria; I didn't** **provide details of this since I didn't want to write Lemons so fast. So I have a question, you want me to write Lemons? (There won't be many Lemons only a few.) If many vote yes. Then in the future I will write what happened. And how those two ended up fucking so fast. Hehehe.**

**Naruto didn't like killing living beings, and I think it goes without saying that the Reapers are not living beings ... Though Naruto will make a big exception in the future. You'll see.**

**Notice that Shepard will sometimes use the Renegade options. She won't be 100% Paragon.**

**Then there's the thing about Tali, almost everyone voted yes. So she will also be a "love interest" for Naruto, but I'll see how to fit this. (I'm not 100% sure yet. I'll see how the things develop)**

**Then** **several people asked why not Liara. Well, the answer is simple. And that's because she is not yet in this part of history.**

**Well, then** **some people asked for a Harem. I think it will be tough. What could happen is that Naruto fucks a few girls of the crew occasionally.**

**But love interest I don't think it will pass beyond the "TalixNarutoxShepard."**

**And this is just to know your opinions. What do you think about a possible harem? It's just a question that I want to know the answer.**

**If I don't update this in 2 months. It's due to** **my college. It's getting hard, so I can't write anything now.**

**Anyway, I guess that's all. If you have any more questions, leave them in the reviews, and I'll answer them as fast as I can. Greetings.**


	4. Chapter 3

Organic being talking. "Hello"

Organic being thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

 **Chapter** **3**

The next day – On the Normandy

Another day had come, and Shepard was still sleeping. But not for long, since she heard the sound of her bathroom's shower, along with the voice of a person who was humming and whistling a song.

With a sigh of annoyance, she opened her eyes. Rubbing them, she got out of her bed.

She walked to her shower, and once there she recognized a blonde hair as the owner was soaping his body.

Shepard could not say anything because the person spoke before she could. "Oh, good morning, Commander Shepard. I hope you don't mind that I use your bathroom." After that, Naruto continued whistling as he hummed another song.

Shepard sighed at this and replied. "Would it change anything if I'm angry?" She asked just as the bathroom door opened, giving way to Naruto with a towel around his waist and another towel in his hand as he dried his hair.

"Well, probably not. But at least, I would know not to do something like this the next time." Naruto replied as he stopped drying his hair, only to realize that Shepard was examining him up and down.

Naruto smiled and added. "Hehehe, based on what I see I think there won't be any problem."

Shepard at that shook her head as a flush of embarrassment appeared on her face for what she had done. "I don't mind, but at least, you could tell me when you plan to use my bathroom or come to my cabin," Shepard replied heading to her closet where she kept her armor to put it on, leaving her helmet on her bed.

Then she turned around and saw Naruto sitting on her couch with the clothes that he wore when boarded the ship. That certainly caught Shepard's attention. "How do you do that?" She asked sitting next to him on the couch.

"Do what, Commander?" Naruto asked with a relaxed look.

"Change your clothes, I saw you doing it on Omega, and I think you did it again since I didn't see you bringing clothes with you," She replied.

Naruto nodded and replied. "When I mastered the Yin and Yang elements, I was able to transform any of my thoughts in reality. I can do things like this..." Naruto then paused as a red flame appeared in the palm of his right hand. After a few moments, the flame dissipated revealing a small yellow bird, surprising Shepard greatly.

After Naruto had created the bird, it shook its head and fluttered before settling down on Naruto's right shoulder, as he continued. "Or things a little more complicated as the people you saw on my planet."

Shepard could not help asking. "Anything? Can you create anything based on your imagination?"

Naruto nodded and replied. "Yes, if I wanted I could replicate the Normandy. But doing something like that is not as simple as creating a small animal or other people. It would cost me a bit of time because I would have to use more chakra due to the size and the number of objects inside the ship. I would say something like thirty minutes." Naruto stated as if it were nothing.

Shepard was a bit confused about the chakra because she did not understand how it worked. It was very different from the biotic powers that she used. Although the last thing she heard made her sweat drop. That still was ridiculously fast for creating a ship out of nowhere

Therefore, she shook her head, putting away that thought. "That certainly is surprising. If I hadn't seen you doing all that you did in that vision, then I would have believed that you were crazy." She stated with a smile at the end.

Naruto smiled back, but then put on a serious face. "Now Commander. There is another reason I came to your cabin; it has to do with what my clone could detect yesterday in you, and what you said before it disappeared. Would you like to talk about it? Or do you want to let it pass?"

Upon hearing this, Shepard also turned serious. "No, I don't want to let it pass. I'm not one to run away from their problems, so if you don't mind. I would like to address that point." She replied.

Naruto nodded and then looked at the bird, making it disappear. "All right, Commander. Tell me what it is that you think you feel so that I can give a meaning to your emotions. I may look very young, but trust me when I say that I have more than enough experience in human behavior."

Shepard nodded and said what she was feeling. Shepard told Naruto bluntly that she thought she was in love with him, but at the same time, Shepard felt confused because she thought it was just admiration.

Shepard also said what she felt when she was near him, about that intangible aura that she could feel in some way. All this and more Shepard told him, and once she finished with her narration, Shepard realized that Naruto had stood up from the sofa and had turned away.

"Commander, forget about these feelings. I'm sorry, but I will repeat it; I can't reciprocate those feelings, I concluded that you are in love with me. But with much regret, I'm sorry to say that nothing can happen between us." Naruto stated without turning around.

That gave Shepard a feeling of discomfort, so she stood up and walked to Naruto's position to stand before him. "Why? Is it because you think I care about how old you are? I don't mind that at all. I know this is very sudden ... Hell, we barely know each other. It's illogical that something like this could happen. But it's something that just happened. Don't get me wrong, I don't want you to feel the same way instantly. Maybe with time..." Shepard replied looking at Naruto directly into his eyes.

Naruto smiled slightly at that, as he something similar had happened to him and one of his wives in the past. Nevertheless, Naruto stopped thinking about it, since remembering those good days brought him a feeling of sadness.

Again, he put on his grave expression and continued. "Sorry, but it can't be." With that said, Naruto began walking out of the room only to hear Shepard speaking again.

"And why did you sleep with Aria? I think you're a hypocrite." Shepard stated with a straight face.

Naruto turned around before answering. "Don't confuse the situation, Commander. That was just sex without commitment. I will no longer commit to serious relationships; I'm sorry." Again, he turned around.

"Why?" Shepard asked wanting to know the answer.

At the question, Naruto sighed but decided to respond to the question. Maybe this way Shepard could understand the reason for his words.

He approached Shepard to look her into her eyes, and Shepard returned the gaze.

"Commander, what would you do if you were in my situation? What would you do if you saw all your loved ones dying before your eyes helplessly, even if you have the power to save them? If you're unable to save them by factors that are beyond your power and watch them dying without mercy. Commander, it was very hard for me seeing them dying. To my people, to my friends, to my wives, and the hardest of all, seeing my sons dying, to my true children. I couldn't do anything. And that's why I don't want to take the risk. I don't ever want to lose anything anymore, and while the Reapers still exist; there is still the risk that I can lose everything again. That's why I'm here to kill them and to protect you only. That's the reason, Commander." Naruto replied looking at Shepard, who had lowered her head at Naruto's words.

Maybe she would not have been able to bear it, and for that reason, she now felt more admiration for Naruto. That about his 'wives' caught her eye, though. Nonetheless, she would not ask him about it, since she could understand that Naruto would not like to talk about them or his children. Most likely, because it would make him feel sad.

Nevertheless, Shepard wanted to help him somehow. She could somehow feel a great sadness that Naruto kept inside, and that feeling was something that did not fit in Naruto. Even though Shepard still did not know him very well, from what she had seen of him so far, Shepard concluded that Naruto was not a sad or pessimistic person.

But even knowing that she had nothing to say. Shepard just kept her head down; she did not know how to answer since she could not put herself in his shoes. They both were from entirely different worlds.

Since Naruto heard nothing more from Shepard, he turned around to try to leave the room. But this time, he heard another voice.

 **"Commander Shepard, the Illusive Man requests your presence in the Communications Room. Yours too, Naruto-san."** EDI informed through the intercom.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the way that EDI addressed to him. Nevertheless, he did not pay much attention since he was sure that she had analyzed the Japanese customs. Many on the ship had already said that he spoke the same language as the Japanese, so most likely that country used the same honorifics.

But what draw his attention was the person who had called him. Maybe he could take this opportunity to leave him a very clear message.

Shepard also heard what EDI said. Therefore, she shook her head and looked at Naruto. "Shall we?" She asked.

Naruto looked at her and nodded, and after a few seconds, the two left Shepard's cabin.

Kurama had heard all that Naruto had told Shepard, so he spoke while watching Naruto leaving the room. **"I think you're wrong."**

Naruto at this voice sighed mentally. _"Please Kurama; I'm not in the mood for your sermons."_

Kurama shook his head and answered. **"Sorry, but you're my best friend. Well, my only one friend and I can't help it. Naruto, stop blaming yourself for what happened back then. Look, I know that I shouldn't get into your personal life, but why don't you give this woman a chance? She's the best of the best that you could find over here, redo your life. You entertained me a lot yesterday, but I want you to stop being so depressed all the time. I want you to be happy again, Naruto. And just fucking every woman that you see won't make you happy."**

 _"I know my friend, and I appreciate your concern. But I'm scared; I don't want to take the risk. I don't want to lose anyone close to me again."_ Naruto replied.

 **"That's a goddamn excuse. Damn, you are now the most powerful being in this universe. Sure, it's been quite some time since the last time we have seen each other. But the last time I saw you getting angry, you kicked ass, and that was centuries ago. Now you surely can kick even more asses, so don't use cheap excuses. Live your life, not necessarily with this woman, but at least, try to be happy. All your friends would have wanted that for you. Think about it, Naruto."** And after that, Kurama cut connection with Naruto.

Naruto had always listened to Kurama's advice before, so he would think about it. Nonetheless, that did not mean that it would be quick. Nonetheless, he would have to do it later, because right now, they were about to arrive at the Deck number two.

When the elevator's door opened, they went directly to the Communications Room. Before arriving at the room, Shepard realized that Garrus was near the door leaning back on the wall with crossed arms.

Garrus did not find it strange that they were coming together since he sensed that they would talk with the leader of Cerberus. "Shepard, you're finally awake," Garrus said smiling.

Shepard returned it and asked, standing before Garrus. "Yes, I was exhausted from all that happened yesterday. By the way, how do you feel?"

At this, Garrus looked at Naruto, who seemed to have a lost gaze on his face, but Garrus looked back at Shepard. "I've never felt better before. The doctor already told me what your friend did. He's certainly quite interesting, plus she also said something about his history. It's surprising that you have a demi-god on your crew." Garrus replied.

Shepard chuckled and replied. "Yes, he's indeed interesting. And that you haven't yet seen him doing all the things that I saw him doing." Then she looked at Naruto, and she also noticed his lost gaze.

However, she did not pay much attention to it since she thought it was just another oddity of him. "By the way, don't call him that. He doesn't like that people call him in that way. He says that he might go insane if people start calling him that. Anyway, I'm happy that you are okay. You'll have to be at your full potential to kick some asses in the next mission that you're on."

Garrus nodded and added. "Don't doubt it, but I'll stop taking up your time. I'm sure your boss has called you, and that's why you came here."

"Garrus, the Illusive Man isn't my boss. We're just cooperating because he's the only one who wants to investigate the Reapers. I don't work for him." Shepard replied, a little offended by Garrus' words.

Garrus corrected himself. "I didn't want to offend you, Shepard. I only assumed things, but it's good to know that we aren't working for Cerberus and that you're still in charge. Now I'll get out of your way. If you need me, I'll be in the Main Battery room calibrating the Normandy's guns. Until later." After that, Garrus walked to the elevator before going to the crew deck.

After Garrus had left that place, Shepard turned around to look at Naruto, who still had a lost expression on his face, which she found odd. "Hey, are you okay?" Shepard asked waving her hands in front of Naruto's face.

Naruto upon seeing this came out of his state and answered. "Yeah, sorry. I was talking to my tenant. Anyway, let's hear what this man has to say."

Shepard was not very surprised about the fact that Naruto could talk to that Fox. After all, she had seen him absorbing him. So she had concluded a while ago that the beast was now inside of him.

After hearing the last thing that Naruto had said, Shepard nodded and walked into the Communications Room. Once inside, the room lights turned off while the room table went down until the top was on the floor.

The top had a glass, and Shepard and Naruto stood there. Instantly both were surrounded by a dome of light, which projected them to where the Illusive Man was, in his typical position and smoking a cigarette.

Naruto and Shepard also saw him projected, and the Illusive Man when seeing both of them, decided to speak. "Shepard, good job acquiring Archangel. I have heard that there were some problems, but the important thing is that the mission was a success. As always, you know how to get the job done." The Illusive Man eulogized looking at Shepard.

"There were some complications, but nothing serious. Now, tell me why you have called us here. I'm quite sure it has nothing to do with my recent mission." Shepard replied with a serious look.

The Illusive Man chuckled as he took a drag on his cigarette before expelling the smoke. "Very perceptive as always, Shepard. You're right, that wasn't the reason I've called you here; there's something else. Miranda was kind enough to fill me in on the situation about a new crewmember of yours that is capable of 'unbelievable' feats." The Illusive Man replied as he moved a little in his seat.

Shepard clenched her fists; she already knew what the Illusive Man meant and had a guess where he was heading. She stealthily looked at Naruto, and she saw that he had his arms crossed and eyes closed.

He then opened them and looked directly at the Illusive Man, who upon realizing that Naruto was staring at him, stared back. "So it's you. I was expecting someone a little more 'stunning' due to the descriptions that Miranda gave of your skills."

Naruto squinted. "I hope you're quick with your words because I don't like wasting my time with guys like you," Naruto stated with a solemn face.

The Illusive Man asked as he put a mockingly-confused face. "Like me? What kind of man am I according to you?" He asked.

Naruto just stared at him but remained silent. The Illusive Man upon seeing this smiled arrogantly and continued. "Even though you are not what I expected; I have a feeling that everything that Miranda said is true. So I have a proposal that might interest you..." The Illusive Man said looking at Naruto.

"I'm not interested," Naruto answered.

"You haven't even heard what my offer is. How can you refuse if you don't listen what I want to say first…?" However, the Illusive Man could not finish because Naruto interrupted him.

"Listen 'very well,' you're starting to stretch my patience. I can be very patient; but when I'm in front of people like you, who think that are superior and look down on others just because they are different, I can't help but be furious, so I'm leaving. I don't want to hear anything that comes out from your mouth." Naruto stated with a firm voice.

The Illusive Man chuckled as he watched Naruto leaving the room. Nonetheless, the Illusive Man said one last thing that he thought that might help. "I just want you to know that your actions could affect the Commander."

The Illusive Man then saw that Naruto stopped, and the next thing he saw left him baffled. He saw Naruto distorting as if a swirl was absorbing him.

After that, Naruto had disappeared, which confused the Illusive Man. Shepard knew what Naruto did, but not why, or so it was until she saw something that made her smile and chuckle.

The Illusive Man noticed it, and when he was about to ask Shepard where Naruto went, he heard a voice behind him as he felt a hand on his back.

"The Hiraishin mark never disappears..." Naruto stated in a threatening tone, and the Illusive Man at the voice instantly put himself on alert.

Nevertheless, he could not do nothing because he floated against his will, and after a moment, he felt a hand squeezing his neck tightly.

The Illusive Man was not stupid, and he quickly concluded that he was now out of his depth. Besides that, Naruto was looking at him with a very cold gaze, and those purple eyes that conveyed a sense of death didn't help him to stop feeling nervous.

"Listen to me, you bastard. I don't like killing others, but don't think that I won't finish off garbage like you. Nothing would please me more than you give me one more reason to crush your head and I'll gladly do it." Naruto then paused for a moment as he watched the Illusive Man clawing his hands in an attempt to break free. But even though he tried, he could not do it, and Naruto just squeezed harder.

"Now listen to my warning. If you say something as stupid as you did earlier, I will kill you. If you try to interfere with the Commander's goal to unite her galaxy, I will make sure to end you and all of your organization. So I'm warning you. No matter where you are, no matter where you hide, if you try it, I will look for you, I will find you and I will kill you. Did you hear me?" Naruto asked in a very threatening tone that chilled the blood of the Illusive Man, who upon hearing this nodded as he could in Naruto's grasp.

Naruto instantly released him, and the Illusive Man fell to his knees as he coughed loudly and tried to recover the lost oxygen.

Naruto bent down, and the Illusive Man could only raise his head slightly. "Listen very well. From now on, you will cooperate with the Commander and your galaxy. You will leave aside those twisted ideas that you have; you will use all your resources to help the galaxy to stop the Reapers. Did you hear me, Jack Harper?"

The Illusive Man's eyes widened in shock when hearing the latter, so he raised his head to look at Naruto as he continued rubbing his neck due to the burning. "H-How do you know my name?" The Illusive Man could only ask, but at the end, he nodded to Naruto's question.

"That's none of your business. You just have to know that if you try anything against the Commander's goal. Then I will rip your head off, and don't think that hiding can save you. I already told you, the Hiraishin mark never disappears. Now I'm leaving and the next time you need me, I hope it's for something of utmost importance and not just nonsense to feed your twisted ego." After Naruto had made his point of view clear, he had entered into his Kamui and appeared right next to Shepard, who was looking at him with wide eyes.

"Wow… That was surprising and funny. Hahaha." Shepard laughed looking at Naruto, but she just saw him leaving the room with a frown and without saying a word.

That worried her a bit, so she looked back at the Illusive Man and added. "Well... Jack. See you later. I have to continue the mission." She paused for a moment to smile. "By the way, looks like you wet your pants. Go and change them. Until next time, Jack." After that, she left the room, but not without letting out a giggle at the end.

Meanwhile, the one now known as Jack Harper stood up slowly from the floor. Once he did it, he shook his suit.

Then he walked to his chair and sat down, pulling out another cigarette to light it with difficulty since his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

However, when he managed to lit his cigarette, he took a drag before releasing the smoke, smiling at the end. "That man... that man... One way or another, I must get him on my side. With someone like him, I have no doubt that we humans would be the dominant species. I must do it, but how will I do it without ending up death?" Jack spoke, still unable to control his shaking hands, but he could not help smiling.

Now he would have to investigate what this "Hiraishin" thing was, in addition to finding a way to remove it from his body, as he had felt something entering his body when Naruto had touched him. Therefore, he concluded that it was something to track him down.

But for now, he would just have to support Shepard and not do anything stupid because he had no doubt that Naruto would kill him if he came to break his word.

After that, he rose from his seat to walk to another direction, more specifically, to his cabin to take a shower and think. To think about Naruto and that powerful feeling he had felt when he stood before him, it was just terrifying, but magnificent at the same time.

Back on the Normandy, Shepard walked towards where Naruto went. When she spotted him, Shepard almost called him. However, she saw him immersing into the floor, toward the hangar of the ship.

She sighed and went to the elevator, and once inside, she went to the hangar. Once the elevator door opened, she walked through the hangar. Until after a moment, she saw Naruto sitting on the floor with crossed legs and closed eyes.

She did the same, and once she sat in front of him, Shepard waited for him to say something. Nevertheless, after a few minutes, he had said nothing. He did not even move an inch, so she decided to speak.

"Sorry for what happened up there, I didn't believe that the Illusive Man would make you that angry. By the way, how did you know where he was?" She asked interestedly.

Naruto opened one eye and chuckled. "Don't worry, Commander. I no longer feel angry. I was at that time, but not anymore. But that doesn't mean that I won't kill that man if he does something that could affect your goals." Naruto replied.

Shepard nodded at this, and Naruto continued. . "Regarding your other question. As long as you are in this universe, I'm able to go there. I just need to know how the place looks like, and I knew it because that woman Miranda was on several occasions in that location with the Illusive Man. It wasn't difficult to know where he was hiding." Naruto replied.

"Are you not angry with Miranda? I'll talk to her about it later." Shepard said.

Naruto shook his head and answered. "No, don't worry about it. That woman will find out by herself the real intentions of Jack Harper. She's a good woman; she only joined the wrong side. But I'm sure that sooner or later she'll realize that Cerberus isn't the place where she belongs to."

Shepard nodded but then asked. "How did you know his name?"

Naruto chuckled and replied. "Don't doubt my ability to read minds, Commander. When I was near him, I knew everything about him. I wanted to kill him right there, but I didn't do it because he's helping you right now. That man won't do any good to your Galaxy. But I took care to keep him in line, for now. If he is stupid enough to try something against you, then I won't hesitate to kill him. But I think that he won't do it; he's a smart man, after all."

Shepard nodded. "You know, you can call me Shepard. You don't need to call me always by my rank."

"Very well, then I'll call you in that way from now on, Shepard. By the way, I need to take you somewhere else. I need to introduce you to someone." Naruto spoke, seeing Shepard nodding.

After Naruto had seen the nod, he stood up and looked at Shepard to see that she had stood up as well. He smiled slightly before materializing a Katana in his right hand, and without words, Naruto cut off half of his left arm.

Shepard's eyes widened in concern, even more because she saw that the blood began to sprout from Naruto's arm, who didn't flinch even a bit. "W-What are you doing!" Shepard exclaimed as she approached Naruto to try to give him her Medi-gel.

Nonetheless, she could not do it because Naruto made a stop sign with his other hand as he bent down to leak his blood on the ship's floor. He did that for a few minutes, and Shepard could not help feeling increasingly concerned.

Even though Naruto had said he was immortal, seeing him losing that amount of blood made her doubt. Then she saw that Naruto returned to his feet, and the next thing she saw was that something grew where he had cut his arm.

After a few moments only, Naruto had recovered his arm. "That amount of blood should be enough to get his attention," Naruto said, clenching his left fist to get used to his new arm.

Shepard let out a sigh of relief before looking at Naruto's eyes. "Anything I see you doing, you give me the impression that you indeed are a god and not just a mere human. And why the hell did you cut your arm off?" Shepard asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead. At least, nothing bad had happened. After what she had seen today, she would stop doubting on Naruto's immortality.

Naruto smiled as he chuckled. "It was necessary. The being that we are going to see told me that I had to do this when I needed him. Anyway, you will know who he is in a few seconds. By the way, we are about to go to a sacred place. Just remain silent and only speak when I tell you. Don't talk without my permission." Naruto warned with a serious face.

Shepard nodded, and Naruto approached Shepard to grab her hand right gently.

Shepard said nothing and simply squeezed Naruto's hand, and after a few moments, they both vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shepard instantly realized that they were somewhere else. It was a desolate place where the air was minimum and cumbersome. There was an unpleasant smell, the temperature was high, and black clouds that flashed covered the skies. In addition, the ground was of a bluish color, very similar to the color that she had seen when they arrived at Naruto's planet.

She then looked to her right, seeing that Naruto was standing beside her, still holding her hand. She smiled, and when she was about to ask where they were, she heard noises.

She could hear people crying, screaming, whispering, and many other gloomy sounds. That confused her, so she looked down and saw strange blue creatures underground

It seemed as if they were trying to grab her, but for some reason, Naruto had none of these creatures around him. "Shepard, keep silence. If you don't, the lost souls of this place will get into your body. Shinigami-sama created this place to make the most despicable beings from the ends of the universe suffer for eternity. We aren't something 'Natural' in this place, so they'll take any advantage to enter into your body and live inside of you. Tormenting you for the rest of your life. I don't have that problem since I have permission from Shinigami-sama, so they can't do anything to me. Though I don't understand why he summoned us here and not within his kingdom. He must want us to walk, or most likely, he noticed your presence, and somehow he wants to put you to test. But you already know what to do. If you keep your mouth shut, you'll be safe." Naruto stated.

Shepard nodded and mentally asked as they walked. _"Are we about to see a god?"_

Naruto looked at her and smiled. This woman was quite clever; she realized that he would be reading her mind in case she had questions. "Yes, we are about to see a real God. I know you're nervous, but don't feel that way. Shinigami-sama is nice... Well, I think so." Naruto replied.

Shepard felt more nervous than before. She was used to standing tall through harrowing situations but meeting a god was on an entirely different level. It was beyond her comprehension, so she could not help feeling that way.

They continued walking through the narrow road that lead to the massive castle that they could see at the end. The lost souls continued following Shepard's steps carefully, waiting for any carelessness on her part.

The souls could only see Shepard as a figure that glowed in the darkness. Nonetheless, Naruto was invisible to them; that was the reason they were not trying to follow him. Although they would not have been able to do much even if could.

After a few minutes of walking, they arrived in front of the castle. The big door instantly came down while a powerful white light that blinded Shepard briefly was visible.

Instantly all the souls behind Shepard moved away, and she sighed mentally. Those whispers and moans had her nervous from a while ago.

When her eyes got used to the brightness within the castle, Shepard started walking forward, following Naruto from behind. When they entered, the great door closed again.

Inside was completely bright white, and such brilliance was bothering her a bit. She now realized it was a bad decision to have left her helmet on her bed, but she could handle it.

They didn't move from their places and just remained standing. Nonetheless, after about five minutes, Shepard knelt down since she started to feel enormous pressure on her shoulders, forcing her to do it.

Naruto did it too but not by the pressure, but rather due to respect. "Shinigami-sama, you honor us with your presence," Naruto said with his head bowed and his right hand on his chest.

Shepard quickly imitated this, but she did not raise her head since she could not do it. **"Great Sage, you are finally back. I was beginning to think that you would never return."** Shepard heard in a voice that was almost equal to Naruto's, in the sense of the sensations it conveyed; but this was somewhat sinister.

"Sorry for the delay, Shinigami-sama. But I was never given the chance. Nevertheless, that changed a few days ago." Naruto replied, still with his head bowed.

Shepard and Naruto then saw two bluish feet in front of them, and this time, Naruto looked up, but Shepard was still unable to move.

 **"And I suppose this human woman next to you has something to do with that. Hmm, what is it that makes her special?"** Shinigami asked looking at Naruto, who smiled slightly and answered the Shinigami's question without words.

 **"Oh, I see. And I thought that you were just horny, and you wanted to fuck her since you have been abstinent for several millennia. Hahaha."** The Shinigami laughed loudly.

Shepard blushed with embarrassment at these words, still bowing her head.

"Please don't say such things, Shinigami-sama," Naruto added a bit embarrassed, not for what he said about Shepard, but because the Shinigami had guessed about his horniness. That, however, was not the reason he accepted helping Shepard.

The Shinigami chuckled but then turned serious. **"So does this mean that you're ready to fulfill your mission? Are you sure that you can end them forever?"** The Shinigami asked.

"Yes, this time, I will be able to achieve it." Naruto did not hesitate to answer.

The Shinigami nodded pleased. **"I'll be eagerly awaiting the outcome of this. By the way..."** He paused and looked at Shepard. **"Stand up, human."**

Shepard was finally able to control her body, and she stood up slowly. Once she did, she saw something with red horns, long white hair with a white kimono, his skin was purple, and he was, at least, three times taller than she was. If Shepard was nervous before, now she was even more so, especially due to the strange smile on the Shinigami's face.

The Shinigami then approached her before pulling a Tantō out of his sleeve, stabbing Shepard directly into her heart. Shepard instantly felt a great pain, but she endured it and didn't shout. She just remained silent because Naruto did not allow her to speak yet.

 **"Hmmm, she has a great soul. It's sincere and pure, although it has a small dark part. Hehehe, but not as dark as yours when you came here for the first time."** The Shinigami said smiling at Naruto, who was scratching his head in shame.

"Hey, but, at least, I've changed... I think." Naruto replied.

Shepard then felt that the Shinigami removed the weapon from her chest. There was no blood or anything since his Tantō was a spiritual weapon and it did not damage Shepard's body. The Shinigami did that so that he could know what kind of soul she had. After that, Shepard stopped feeling pain.

 **"What is your name, human?"** The Shinigami asked.

Shepard then saw that Naruto gave her a sign to talk. "My name is Shepard, Sir," She replied saluting.

 **"Shepard, you know what is about to start, right? You know that even though Naruto is with you, many people will die. Are you ready to endure all this?"** The Shinigami asked.

"More than ready, Sir!" Shepard replied firmly.

The Shinigami continued. **"Glad to hear it, though I have another question. Would you be upset if Naruto becomes the center of attention in your galaxy? It's something that could happen though he does not intend to."**

Shepard chuckled and shook her head. "No, I don't think I can get angry about that. And yes, I also believe that that will happen. I've noticed that he doesn't do things to get attention; he just does them because he sees these things as something normal. But no, it won't bother me, Sir." Shepard replied.

"Hey, don't talk as if I weren't here," Naruto said with a pout on his face and crossing his arms.

Both Shepard and the Shinigami laughed at this, but then they stopped laughing, and the Shinigami looked at Naruto. **"Naruto, now I'll tell you something that might cheer you up..."** That caught Naruto's attention, so he just looked at the Shinigami.

 **"Well, they are two things. The first one..." He then folded his hands, and a metallic door with several Kanjis around it appeared behind him. "I'll give you the opportunity to enter into my paradise now that you're here for one day, all your friends and loved ones are there. Even though they are not aware of your arrival, they will be once we go there. What do you say? Do want to see them? I'm sure that they will be happy, and I can feel that you will be too."** The Shinigami said.

Naruto's heart instantly pumped faster while a smile of bliss crossed his face.

Shepard smiled sympathetically. She did not doubt that she would also feel the same way if she could not see her loved ones for so many years and then someone gave her a chance to see them, at least, one more time. Moreover, Naruto hadn't seen them for thousands and thousands of years.

"A-Are they all right?" Naruto asked while his hands and lips shook with excitement.

 **"Yes, they're all okay. Though they were sad when they heard about your mission, and that they would not be able to see you until you completed it. I do not usually keep the whole bodies of the people who come to my paradise, but they were clearly the exception. So, will you enter?"** The Shinigami asked.

Naruto smiled before shaking his head. "I'm sorry for rejecting this great offer; but it would be better not to see them, at least not yet. I still have my duties, and if I see them, the chances are that I will no longer want to leave that place."

The Shinigami nodded, but then went on to the last point. **"Okay, the last point."** The Shinigami paused to put a serious face. **"Naruto ... We, the gods, have decided that you will be part of us once you finish your mission. You will have your own kingdom and all the benefits of a god."** The Shinigami stated.

That statement took Naruto and Shepard off guard, much more to the latter, due to obvious reasons.

"A god? Why did you decide that?" Naruto asked.

 **"Because we know what you're capable of even though you don't know it. Your power goes far beyond the limits and understanding of living beings. Therefore, we concluded that the most appropriate decision would be that you become one of us once you complete your mission."** The Shinigami replied.

Naruto upon hearing this brought his fingers to his chin while thinking about this possibility. Shepard just looked at him attentively waiting for him to deny the offer.

After a few seconds, Naruto pulled his fingers away from his chin and spoke. "Let me think about it, Shinigami-sama. I will give you an answer when everything is over."

Shepard mentally sighed at this. At least, that was better than accepting, and the Shinigami nodded. **"Okay, we will be looking forward to your answer. You two can now return to continue your mission."**

Shepard and Naruto nodded at this, and Naruto approached Shepard again. And just when he was about to disappear along with her, the Shinigami spoke again. **"One last thing, Naruto."**

"I'm all ears, Shinigami-sama," Naruto said.

 **"Don't be overconfident, you may be very powerful. But 'someone' is still alive, and that 'someone' could complicate things in the not too distant future."** The Shinigami warned.

"Someone? Who?" Naruto asked confused.

 **"I can't tell you; I would be interfering with the affairs of mortals. I can only tell you not to be overconfident. I'm not allowed to reveal its identity."** The Shinigami replied.

Naruto nodded and replied. "Don't worry, Shinigami-sama. Anyone who gets in the way of my mission, it shall die without Mercy." Naruto stated with a serious face.

 **"It's good to hear that, and I hope to hear your response when this is over. Oh and by the way, Naruto. Remember not to use the Rinne Tensei, not even I would be able to take you out of the clutches of the King of Hell if you came to use it. Now you are dismissed."** Naruto nodded and disappeared along with Shepard in his Kamui, and she didn't find anything strange in the Shinigami's last warning since she didn't know what he meant.

Once they left, the Shinigami could not help sighing. **"That person will certainly cause many problems. I just hope it's not as powerful as we think it is. Naruto is Naruto, though, and he will find a way."** After that, the Shinigami disappeared.

Back to the Normandy, Shepard and Naruto returned to the ship's hangar. Shepard quickly took a deep breath. The entire time they were in that place, she had been nervous. Even more, when Shepard started talking with the God of Death. And though she found him friendly, Shepard had felt the same feeling of death when she saw that giant fox appearing in Naruto's world, and that made her feel very uncomfortable.

"Whew, damn. That was... interesting." Shepard said after catching her breath before looking at Naruto, seeing that he was kneeling on the floor while putting a scroll over it. The scroll then began to absorb his blood at a high rate of speed. She did not care about this, so she just waited for Naruto to end what he was doing

Once Naruto finished sealing his blood, he kept his scroll in his suit. Then he stood up and looked at Shepard. "You're right, it was kind of interesting. I found out interesting things." Naruto replied.

"Will you still deny that you're a god? They're about to give you the job." Shepard said with a fake smile.

Naruto noticed this, but he returned a real one. "Well, technically I'm not one yet. I could be it if I accept the job when this is all over. But who knows, maybe something interesting will happen that could make me reject the position. Only time will tell." After that, Naruto sat on the floor as he stood in a meditation pose.

Shepard could not help smiling slightly at these words. Uzumaki Naruto would not escape from her so easily.

"But won't take any more of your time, Shepard. You can continue with your mission; it has been hardly a minute since we left this place to the Kingdom of Shinigami-sama." Naruto stated.

"I think it was, at least, an hour since we left," Shepard replied confused.

Naruto chuckled and replied as he closed his eyes and clasped his hands. "The time in that place runs faster compared to here. After you recruit Mordin Solus, where will we go, Shepard? Anyway, I'll train now."

"Do you really need training? Are you worried about what the Shinigami said?" She asked.

Naruto shook his head and answered. "No, I'm not threatened by that person who is still alive. I don't think it can do me much harm. And I do need training; I was sleeping for about 3000 years. So I need to get in shape. Anyway, what will we do after recruiting Mordin Solus?" Naruto asked again.

Shepard nodded when hearing the answer, but then she answered. "We may go to the Citadel. Captain Anderson requested my presence there. Maybe we can persuade the council to help us. They must do something; many humans were sacrificed so that they could survive."

"It was a good decision to save them, Shepard. You lost strength in your fleet, but that decision increased the trust towards the humans. You may not yet see it that way, but I assure you that that decision will bring you more benefits than consequences in the future."

Shepard nodded but then asked. "I wondered if you would like the Spectre position. I don't think it'll be hard for you to get it. You would get many benefits and also, you'd be able to talk to the council easily. They are a bunch of arrogant bastards, but if you have the Spectre status, it's more likely that they will hear you." Shepard stated.

Naruto raised his right eyebrow as he opened his eyes. "Hmm, interesting. However, I don't think I can. I haven't done anything to earn that title. But it's not important; as long as you're a Spectre, I don't need to be it." Naruto replied as he closed his eyes again.

Shepard shrugged and turned away. "Okay, I'll leave you to it. I think I will finish the pending mission on Omega. Then we will go to the Citadel, and there you will try to convince the Council to get to work. Maybe you can make them see those visions."

Naruto nodded, and after a moment, Shepard walked towards the elevator. Nevertheless, she stopped halfway and turned around to ask. "By the way, I've been curious since I saw the vision. What was that object you used? And how did you kill the Reapers on your planet?" She asked approaching again; she decided to take the opportunity to ask about it, not to forget it later.

"I called it 'the Apple of Eden.' It was a powerful artifact that made the Reapers invade my planet. Also, the artifact allowed me to defeat them. I'll tell that story later." Naruto replied.

Shepard upon hearing this was quite surprised, and when she was about to ask if he still had it, Naruto continued. "But I no longer have it in my possession, as it no longer exists. I will tell you everything someday. But not now. Now you have to continue with your mission, and I will train until we arrive at the Citadel. By the way, don't let anyone interrupt me. "

"Why?" She asked.

Naruto opened his eyes and answered. "I'll be using a lot of energy around my body so that the ship doesn't get destroyed while I train. If anything disturbs my concentration while I train, it's most likely that I would end up destroying the ship by mistake. I'll be training with my 'foxy' friend, and we don't hold back when we fight seriously. Anyway, I'll leave these two clones to stop anyone from interrupting me. You can talk to them if you need anything." After saying that, two shadow clones appeared, which greeted Shepard with a slight bow.

Shepard nodded, and after a few seconds, she withdrew from the hangar.

Now she had to recruit Mordin Solus, and once she did it, then she would leave this System. She still did not feel comfortable with Aria, and for that reason, she wanted to get off this system as soon as possible. Although that distrust was due to 'other factors'.

Once she completed her mission, she would talk with Anderson on the Citadel to catch up on everything that had happened while she was dead. Surely, many things had happened, and learning about those things was essential to continue her primary mission.

She then called Zaeed and Miranda to return to Omega and recruit Mordin. Although Naruto had said she did not need to reprimand Miranda, she would do it regardless. Not because she felt something for Naruto, but because Miranda had disobeyed her orders and jeopardized a crewmember.

Even though this person would not have been in danger at all, not everyone was Naruto, and endangering other crewmembers was something that she could not tolerate.

After about 30 minutes of preparation, she and her team continued their mission and recruited the salarian scientist on Omega.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Finally! Sorry for the delay, but these college tests are stressful.**

**Well, let's pass to chap.**

**I think there is not much to explain. Draw your conclusions.**

**What I will say is that, maybe, in the next chapter, Shepard and Naruto will go to the Citadel. You will not see descriptions of the mission to recruit Mordin Solus.**

**Regarding** **the harem, I think I will not do it. And as for Tali, I'm thinking about how to make her a couple of Naruto. I want to do it, but it's difficult.**

**Now you know why Naruto never revived his friends with the Rinne Tensei. In this story, I decided to give Naruto a limit. I don't want Naruto to be a walking Shenron because then the story would be meaningless. I.e, one dies, and he revives them instantly. No, I didn't want something like that.**

**So, if he uses the Rinne Tensei, Naruto would die since the King of Hell would take possession of his soul. I don't know if this is canon, but I decided it to be to give a limit to Naruto. (Edit: This is not canon, but the user dies no matter what after using it. That's canon)**

**I also hope that you have understood Naruto's feelings. I think it's something that would happen to each of us if we were in his situation.**

**Oh yeah, don't think that Naruto will fall for Shepard quickly, I think he won't be until the beginning of Mass Effect 3 or maybe a bit earlier.**

**Besides, I think that Naruto will 'screw' a few of the crew girls before settling down, obviously angering Shepard, lol. I think Miranda could be the next one.**

**Oh yeah, about Naruto's wives. I don't think I will mention them. If you want to know who they were, you can read my other story to have an idea. However, it was not too many, no more than five. You can imagine who they were at your will.**

**Ah, you can see the name of the Illusive Man in the Mass Effect Wikia. You can read it if you wish.**

**But hey, that is all.**

**Until the next time.**


	5. Chapter 4

Organic being, talking. "Hello"

Organic being, thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

* * *

** Chapter 4 **

On Omega

After Shepard and her team had finished preparing themselves, they had descended the Normandy and continued the mission on Omega.

Again, everyone was walking through Omega's entrance corridor; Shepard was ahead, followed by Zaeed and Miranda.

Upon reaching Omega's entrance gate, Shepard stopped. She turned around to look at Miranda and spoke. "Miranda, listen to me because I don't want to repeat it." Shepard began while carrying her hands behind her back as she stood firmly.

Miranda nodded, and Shepard continued. "I won't tolerate any more insubordination coming from you. If you do it again, then I will have no choice but to remove you from the team. Am I clear?" Shepard asked with a serious face though they could not see it because of her helmet.

Miranda upon hearing this pretended that she did not know what she was talking about, but Shepard explained her the reason. Therefore, Miranda had no choice but to accept Shepard's order, but surprised by the story she heard from Shepard, about Naruto 'putting the illusive man in his place.'

She would ask the Illusive man about it later to see if what Shepard had said was true. And if that were the case, then it would be best for her welfare to stop meddling with Naruto and just continue sending regular reports to her boss.

Zaeed could only laugh imagining what the Illusive man could have felt when Naruto appeared out from nowhere. After that, everyone went to Omega's clinic to seek for Mordin Solus, but for this, they would have to pass over an army of Blood Pack and Blue Suns soldiers that were in that place ready to kill any intruders.

Back to the Normandy.

In the hangar of the ship, the clones were slightly away observing the original, who was floating with closed eyes, crossed legs, and interlaced fingers while some transparent purple dome-barrier surrounded him.

Naruto was in a typical meditation pose, although both clones knew that he was not doing that now.

The clones were standing guard as the original had requested, but after several minutes of watching him, one of them could not help speaking. "Booooring, I won't stand here forever. I'm going to explore the ship; maybe I could talk with the Artificial Intelligence of the ship on the improvements that the Boss wants to implement. After that, I should talk with the crew to know a little more about them."

After hearing that, the other clone looked at him and nodded. "All right, I'll stay here in case that someone tries to interrupt the Boss." With that said, the clone stepped right in front of Naruto.

The other clone nodded and headed to ship's elevator. Once inside, the clone said to himself. _"Let's see how this works..."_ After thinking that, the clone looked on the panel. "I see; it's not that complicated." Then he pressed the button that led to the engineering deck.

Once he reached the deck, he walked through the hall, carefully looking at each corner to memorize even the smallest scratch he could see.

After that, he went into a room. He realized that some of them were blocked, but that hardly mattered him and quietly went through the doors to memorize everything that was inside said rooms.

The clone was not doing that because Naruto had said that he could duplicate the Normandy if he memorized everything on the ship, but because he just wanted know her more. After all, he would be here for a long time.

After that, he decided to look at the room where the Mass Effect core of the ship was. For this, he had to make his way through the typical doors, which opened automatically compared to the ones on Omega.

Once he passed by both doors, Naruto could see two people, a woman and a man next to each other, working in their respective stations.

Naruto approached quietly, and once he was behind them, he began to look over their shoulders to see what they were doing.

He saw them pressing several buttons on their panels, but he could not understand what they were doing so he decided to speak. "Hmmm, what are you guys doing?" The clone asked touching the man's shoulder.

That scared both Donnelly and Daniels since none of them had noticed that someone had entered their room.

"What the hell!" Donnelly shouted while turning around quickly after giving a slight jump when he heard the voice, but in doing so, he saw Naruto, who was looking at his panel.

Naruto when hearing Daniels looked at her with a smile that showed his teeth, which caused a slight blush on Daniels and a sigh from Kurama. "Oh, excuse me. I'm just a clone; the original one is in a training session with that huge beast that you saw, and with a certain reddish friend of mine. I've decided to explore the ship to get familiar with her and her crew... I hope not being a nuisance and that my presence is not interrupting you."

He said all this while directly looking at Daniels. "Not at all..." She replied sighing and blushing a little bit at the end.

Donnelly realized that both were staring at each other very intensely, which he found a little weird. So he decided to interrupt. "*Ahem *" He cleared his throat to attract the attention of the clone, who stopped looking at her to look at him.

"You said you were a clone. How is that possible?" He asked interestedly.

The clone answered. "Oh, it is possible thanks to the Chakra. I don't think you guys were in the Communications Room when I talked about it. But surely you heard it because the AI said that she would transmit my words to those who couldn't be in attendance."

Daniels spoke this time. "Yes, we heard it. It's something like the biotic powers, isn't it?" She asked.

The clone shook his head. "Hmmm, not really. The Chakra is more complex; it allows you to do many more things. The biotic powers, from what I've seen so far, are a bit limited. What I mean is that you can't do as many things as you could do if you had Chakra." The clone answered.

Donnelly when hearing the answer nodded in understanding before continuing. "I see, so..." He paused while changing his expression to a nervous one. "Is it true that you're a survivor? Are the Reapers that terrible?" Donnelly asked a little nervous, nervous about the possible response of the clone.

The clone stared at him with a very serious face for several seconds, but eventually he proceeded to answer. "Yes, they are. We had many troubles with only a small part of their total forces when in fact there are millions of them out there, hiding in the darkness of the universe, waiting and analyzing civilizations before attacking them and harvesting them." Naruto replied slamming his right fist into his left palm, making both Donnelly and Daniels feel afraid by his response

He then continued talking. "But... There's one thing they fear, and that's the key to defeating them." The clone continued talking.

"What's that?" Daniels asked taking a step forward.

The clone looked at her and replied. "Unity... Unity makes strength, and they fear that. They know very well that when people are united, they can accomplish extraordinary things. We, the Shinobi, gave them a war of SEVEN years, and it was because we were united. We all had one goal in mind. They know that unity is a big problem, and that's why they're so determined to indoctrinate the leaders or the influential people of certain species, to cause division and avoid what they fear so much. That's why I want to help the Commander because she wants to achieve that. And that's what will allow you to win. I'm just a prop, but if everyone manages to unite themselves, then let me tell you that kicking their asses wouldn't be impossible." The clone stated with conviction.

Daniels and Donnelly felt relieved at the clone's words. Daniels spoke again, this time with a smile on her face. "Wow. Now I feel much calmer. If what you say is true, then we have to pin our hopes in the Commander and you. Now I'm more confident that our mission will be successful."

The clone nodded. "Of course, failure is not an option for you or me. This time, it will be the end of the Reapers, even if I have to kill them one by one." The clone replied, also smiling.

Just then, everyone heard EDI's voice echoing through the intercom. **"Very well spoken, Naruto-san. My sensors indicate that the crew morale has increased considerably."**

At this, those who were there looked at the ceiling and the clone decided to speak. "Oh, were you transmitting my words? I didn't realize it..." The clone said carrying his fingers to his chin.

 **"I thought it would be appropriate, sorry if this has upset you. I am unable to know it because I cannot analyze you."** EDI's voice answered.

However, the clone quickly waved his hands. "No, it's not a problem. Though I would kindly ask you to stop trying to analyze me. I know you're under the Illusive Man's control, but I wouldn't like you to send him things that he doesn't need to know... You know what? Tell Jack Harper that I want him to order you to stop trying to analyze me or I will take you out of his control. Please let him know that." The clone said.

EDI agreed, and those who were in that room could not help but be amazed at Naruto's statement. "Can you really do that or are you just bluffing?" Donnelly asked surprised.

The clone looked at him and shrugged. "No, I'm not bluffing. I could do it now if I wish it. But right now, I don't think that it is necessary. By the way, EDI. I would like to talk to you on some topics if you don't mind."

 **"Whenever you like, Naruto-san."** EDI's voice answered, who had transmitted to the crew the most relevant topics that the clone had said.

After that, Naruto nodded and looked back at the two before him. "Well, it was nice talking to you, guys. Keep working, I will continue exploring the ship and meeting the crew. See you around." The clone said goodbye, as well as Donnelly and Daniels, who then saw the clone floating, and surprisingly, passing through the ceiling as if it was not there.

The clone did not want to use the elevator anymore; he thought it was faster to do this.

After Naruto had left, Donnelly and Daniels looked at each other. "A very interesting guy," Donnelly stated as he turned back to his panel.

"I don't doubt it..." Daniels added with a chuckle at the end, turning around to return to her panel to begin installing, with Donnelly's help, the FBA Couplings that Shepard had bought on Omega.

Returning with the clone, he was already getting through the ceiling, and the place where he appeared was right on the dining table of the ship, scaring those who were around the table eating and talking.

When the clone realized of this, he quickly apologized. "Forgive me for interrupting you, but I don't want to use the elevator anymore. I find this more practical." The clone said apologizing as he scratched his head and placed an apologetic smile on his face.

Hearing this, the people around the table smiled and then invited Naruto to join them. The clone did not refuse and started talking to those at the table. Once again, the topic of conversation was Naruto and his strange powers, but they also told him that they now felt less nervous thanks to the words they had heard a few moments ago.

After that, Naruto said goodbye to go and talk with the cook of the ship, the 'Mess Sergeant Gardner.'

After both had been properly introduced, Naruto stared at him with narrowed eyes, with slightly raised lips and with the fingers of his right hand on his chin.

He was like this for a long time, which made Gardner start to look at him strangely. But eventually, the clone decided to talk. "So, hmm ..." The clone said while moving closer to the table, making Gardner look at him with a raised eyebrow because of the curious expression of the clone.

However, the clone continued. "Can You? ... Can you make Ramen? Rather, does the Ramen exist in this galaxy?" The clone asked him with a questioning face, but with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

Gardner somehow could see the desperation in the eyes of the clone, so he could not help but chuckle. "Yes, there is, and I know how to prepare it. I'm quite the chef though I don't look like one." He said as he opened his arms and smiled. Then he continued. "But with such limited supplies on hand, I'm sorry to say that it's impossible for me to prepare it," Gardner replied, laughing again when seeing the clone opening his eyes widely.

"Thanks to Kami! I don't even remember when the last time I ate Ramen was. I stink at cooking; I'm capable of burning the water..." The clone stated, which made Gardner laugh vigorously at his statement.

However, he said nothing as the clone continued speaking, caring little that he was laughing at his culinary skills. "So do you only need the ingredients?" The clone asked, urging with his hands and head for Gardner to nod.

"Yes, but you will only get junk on Omega. You'll have to wait until we get to the Citadel or some other place where you can get supplies." Gardner replied.

"Screw that! Just tell me what you need, and I'll bring it." The clone replied.

Gardner looked at him in confusion, but he nodded and started saying the ingredient list to the clone, who out of nowhere, had pulled out a small notebook to write what Gardner was saying.

Once he finished saying the list, Gardner was surprised to see Naruto disappearing in his Kamui, but only after 10 seconds, he reappeared.

Instantly, the clone threw many green scrolls on the table, which caused confusion in Gardner and the other crewmembers who had approached to see. All were puzzled at the number of scrolls that the clone was throwing on the kitchen counter.

"Hey, hey, hey, don't mess up my workstation," Gardner said trying to pull the scrolls away.

Before he could, the clone stopped him to say. "Wait..." After that, he grabbed one scroll and charged a bit of Chakra in it, and the result was that many boxes, filled with all kinds of ingredients, were released from said scroll.

However, everyone saw the clone in shock, moving at a surprising speed and catching the boxes before they could fall on the floor as he placed them one on top of another. "I think this would be more than enough for one portion of Naruto Uzumaki style." The clone spoke with a big smile before grabbing another scroll and doing the same thing as first.

Gardner and the others were still in shock, but Gardner quickly put that away and decided to stop the clone since he was filling his workplace with boxes. "Hey, wait a minute..." Gardner said.

The clone stopped halfway of stacking another box and asked inclined. "What?" Gardner instantly pointed at the boxes. "All this is... a portion?" He asked incredulously.

The clone instantly nodded and stood up correctly. "Of course! You know, I'll be very honest. I'm starving! Although I don't need to eat, the mere thought of eating Ramen after so long made my stomach squirm." The clone dramatically said, touching his stomach before squeezing both of his fists close to his face while shaking them.

Then he paused and continued. "So yes, this is a portion. Though you can save two or three of those scrolls for the ship reserve." And with that said, Naruto continued stacking.

Gardner sighed and spoke. "And where the hell did you get all this that fast?" He asked seeing the clone wiping his hands after finishing stacking the boxes of the second scroll.

At Gardner's question, the clone raised the index finger of his right hand and hit his forehead with it.

Everyone was confused to see this action, so Gardner again asked where he got everything, and Naruto insisted with the gesture.

One of those who had approached somehow understood what he meant. "Your mind?" He asked.

The others looked at him before looking back at the clone, who nodded. "Yes, anyway... Hey, how long do you think it will take you to have this ready?" He asked, not wanting to explain in detail where he got all this.

Upon hearing this, Gardner crossed his arms, leaning up against the counter. "The lunch time is over. Try again tomorrow morning if I feel like. But I warn you that I have prepared food for this whole week. Therefore, I believe that I will make what you've asked in eight days. But since you have given me supplies for various dishes, then I could try some other things before doing what you asked. I can't cater to the liking of a single crewmember." Gardner stated seriously.

The clone was obviously incredulous and disgusted at his words. "But if I've brought everything you needed." The clone protested, unhappy by Gardner's words, who crossed his arms and stated. "My kitchen, my rules."

The clone's eyebrows twitched at these words, so he looked with a defiant expression at Gardner before saying. "Very well, your rules."

Gardner smiled triumphantly, and the clone spoke again. "But I have my own rules." After saying this, in Naruto's right hand, an intense blue flame appeared, which scared Gardner and the other crewmembers, who gave several steps back when seeing to the 'demigod' getting angry.

But before anyone could utter a word, the clone pointed his right palm toward the boxes and the scrolls, making them all disappear. "My supplies... I decide what to do with them, and I will no longer need you to prepare me that. At least, I now know that there is also Ramen in this galaxy. I'm sure that the Commander will tell me where to eat when she returns." And with that said, the clone began walking toward the elevator, causing sighs of relief in everyone in the kitchen.

Nevertheless, before the clone could retire, he heard someone chuckling behind him. "Hehehe, don't you think that you're exaggerating for a simple meal?"

Naruto at that voice quickly turned around. "It's not just any meal ... IT'S RAMEN!" The clone exclaimed, raising his index finger and head.

Everyone looked at him with a sweat drop, seeing him standing correctly after a few seconds.

Garrus could only keep laughing. Then he came closer to the clone to say. "Ha! I've never seen anyone so desperate for a meal. But well, if what they say about your age is true, then it might be understandable." Garrus replied in front of Naruto.

"Tell me about it. Do you have any favorite food? Imagine going thousands of years without being able to eat it." Naruto added.

Garrus brought his fingers to his chin, and then he pulled them off and nodded. "You're right, that would suck. Anyway, what are you doing here? Weren't you training or something?" Garrus asked.

The clone nodded and replied. "Yes, but I'm just a clone. I decided to know the ship and her crew a little more. You know, to hang out and adapt me to all this. By the way, I will talk with EDI about some things in a few moments. If what she tells me is favorable, then I'll return to you to improve the weapons of the Normandy a bit. What do you say? You will have many weapons to calibrate later." The clone said with a smile.

Garrus nodded and replied. "That would be great, but what do you have in mind?" He asked interestedly.

The clone gave a half-smile and replied. "You'll see; you only need to know that the Normandy will kick ass after my improvements," He stated with a confident smile.

"Well, I'm impatient to see what you have in mind. Meanwhile, I will return to my station. I'll calibrate the existing weapons. See you around." After that, Garrus gave the clone a handshake and returned to do the usual in his room.

After the clone had watched him leaving, he went to the other rooms of the deck to continue 'memorizing' the ship. He entered several rooms until he came to a specific one... The observation deck.

Obviously, the deck was blocked, but he didn't care and went through the door without problems. Once inside, he approached the large window to start looking toward the infinite.

What he saw in the distance made him frown in suspicion. _"There they are... I can feel them."_ The clone thought while watching the Omega 4 Mass Relay in the distance.

"EDI..." The clone said aloud.

 **"What do you require, Naruto-san?"** She asked her rebellious crewman who was entering into the locked rooms.

"I'll go to investigate something for a moment. Please, tell the other clone about it. I'll be back in a few minutes." The clone said getting closer to the room's window.

Once he was close, the clone made several hand positions in a split second. After he had finished them, the clone whispered. _"Kami no Shōheki (Divine barrier)"_ After saying that, the clone released a sigh while an invisible barrier surrounded him.

 _"This is the trouble with being a clone; I don't have all the qualities of the original. I will immediately dissipate if I go into space without protection. It was a good idea to invent this technique."_ After that, the clone went through the window, successfully getting out into space.

Obviously, the clone floated due to the lack of gravity, but he cared little about this or the side effects of exposure to vacuum because his barrier was more than enough to protect him from anything. He just concentrated on the Relay in the distance. "It is a few million kilometers away from here... I'll see if my speed is still the same." After saying that, Naruto activated his Chakra cloak, which was now red with black lines in several places of his body.

The clone could use his Kamui to arrive instantly, but he wanted to see if he still had the same speed as before or if he had lost it.

So after that, the clone went directly toward the Mass Relay, at a speed that would have left the crew open-mouthed if they had seen him. He left behind him a red line in addition to releasing a kind of whistle that only the clone could hear.

In the cabin, Joker could see a red light on the panel turning on. "Uh? What was that?" He asked confused, touching several buttons to try to figure out what had detected the Normandy's sensor.

 **"That was Naruto-san. And it seems that he is going towards the Omega 4 Mass Relay at high speed."** EDI replied appearing on a console next to Joker, who stared at her in disbelief. "How and why is he in outer space?" Joker asked intrigued.

EDI just replied. **"I am not sure. It would be best to wait for him to come back before asking the concerning questions."** After that, she disappeared from the console.

Joker just stared at EDI, but then he shook his head. "I wonder what else that guy can do. I want to see him in action already." After that, Joker continued his work.

Returning with the clone, he had already reached his destination, stopping abruptly in front of the Relay and turning off his cloak of chakra. _"Kurama ... What my time was?"_ The clone asked.

 **"Four seconds..."** He replied with a laugh at the end. **"You have got rusty,"** Kurama stated.

The clone growled as he clenched his teeth and snapped his fingers. _"Damn, I've really been wasting my time. Hopefully, you and the boss are recovering for the time we've lost."_

Kurama snorted. **"The time that YOU have lost. I've been gathering Natural Energy without stopping all this time. So speak for yourself."** Kurama replied.

The clone sighed in defeat and continued. _"Okay, but it's time to do what I came here for..."_ After saying this, he looked at the huge machine before him, and he slowly floated until being within inches of the Relay, a few meters away from the core.

Once he was close, the clone began to examine it for a few minutes before nodding. _"There's no doubt; here I can feel quite a lot of the Reaper energy. They have been using this Relay for hundreds of years without anyone noticing it. Though it's strange, it's the first time that I have seen a Relay like this one. It doesn't give me a good feeling..."_ The clone thought while touching the Mass Relay with the palm of his hand.

Instantly, the clone closed his eyes as he began to gather as much information as he could from the Relay. After about ten minutes, the clone pulled his hand away, shaking his head as he moved away a few meters from it. _"I won't be able to pass through the Relay; the Boss must do it when he finishes his training. Shit, if Shepard tries to go through the Relay right now, her ship would end up destroyed. Even if I'm able to put my barrier around the ship, the pressure will end up killing everyone. Maybe I could... No, it's too soon, I'll just wait for the Commander, she will know what to do. I must not rush it; I have to do many things before the Reapers become aware of my presence. I must not rush the invasion."_

After thinking about that, the clone placed his hands on the Relay again, this time, to put his Hiraishin mark, just in case.

Once he had finished his research, he returned to the ship with his Kamui.

Once the clone returned to the observation deck, he was received by EDI's voice asking if everything was okay.

The clone had nodded, and then he left there to register the rest of the deck number 3. He entered in Miranda's cabin before going to the infirmary.

In there, Naruto struck up a pleasant conversation with Dr. Chakwas. A conversation that was slowly rising in 'tone' due to the clone's compliments to the doctor about her great look despite her age.

The conversation continued for a few more minutes, but the clone had said that he must continue exploring, but not before promising that they would have a few drinks since the doctor had invited him.

After that, the clone had entered the locked room of the infirmary, surprising the doctor when seeing him going through the door like it was nothing. But she said nothing and continued her job with a smile on her face because she felt quite flattered due to the clone's compliments.

The clone after memorizing that room went to Garrus', who had asked him what he was doing there when he saw him, and the clone replied that he was just exploring the ship.

After that, he walked around the room under the watchful gaze of Garrus, who after a few minutes saw the clone nodding before saying goodbye. Therefore, he floated and passed through the ceiling of the ship.

Garrus upon seeing this could not help but shake his head. _"I won't say anything about what I've just seen."_ Garrus thought as he tried to ignore what he had seen. So to do this, he returned his attention to the Normandy's guns to continue calibrating them.

In the cockpit, Joker was checking the Normandy's controls to get everything ready once Shepard returned to the ship.

"I hope the Commander returns already, waiting here and doing nothing is boring." Joker murmured while pressing some buttons on the dashboard, and when he had finished saying that, he saw something yellow starting to protrude from his dashboard.

"Then you should go to Omega and get some female company." He heard Naruto's voice as Naruto began to emerge right where the dashboard was, scaring Joker because initially he didn't know who he was.

But seeing that it was Naruto, he could not help but let out a sigh of relief. "Hell, don't ever do something like that again. For a moment, I thought that someone was attacking us. Heck, how do you do that?" Joker asked hoping that Naruto would tell more of his secrets.

The clone answered his question as he emerged from the dashboard before going forward slowly, passing through Joker like nothing and scaring him again. "Well, I told you already. I ripped out the eyes of a bastard that caused problems in my world, and then I invented a technique to assimilate its powers. My sensei before dying also gave me his eye that 'coincidentally' was the same as that bastard. He had given it to me to implant it and fight the Reapers. He was too old and could no longer fight them. But back then, I couldn't do that since I had different eyes. So I had to wait a few centuries before doing that."

Joker after seeing Naruto going through him had turned his chair since he had stood behind him. "You talk as if doing that wasn't anything unusual," Joker spoke a little confused with the idea of implanting eyes to get skills.

"Yes, the clan of the person to whom I ripped his eyes out were specialists on it." The clone replied shrugging.

Joker just nodded as if he had understood it. "Aha..." Then he shook his head as he remembered what EDI had said minutes before.

Therefore, he decided to ask about it. "Hey, were you that thing that the Normandy detected a few minutes ago?" Joker asked, looking at him carefully.

"Yeah, it was me." The clone replied shrugging again.

Joker looked at him clearly shocked. "It was you? And you're already back? The Omega 4 Mass Relay is nearly 4 million kilometers away from our position. You couldn't possibly go there and be back so fast without a ship, and EDI said that you were flying there at high speed." Joker expressed looking at him in disbelief.

The clone upon hearing this scratched his head before stopping to look through the window of the cockpit. "You'll think that I'm bluffing, but I'm not. It's the truth; I don't see the need for doing it... It took me four seconds to get there because I had slept for so many years and because I was that long without training. I could have reached there faster, but I got rusty and for that reason the Boss is training right now." The clone answered, just to see EDI appearing on a board next to Joker.

 **"If my calculations are correct, then you have moved at a higher speed than light. That is impressive."** EDI stated, surprising Joker, even more, when he heard EDI's calculations.

Naruto nodded. "It could be, but as I said, I lost part of my power with my last nap." After saying that, he looked at Joker, who shook his head, leaving aside the surprising information he had heard.

Therefore, he decided to ask. "And what were you doing there? Did you find out anything interesting?"

The clone only responded. "Classified information..."

Joker raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What do you mean by 'classified information,' then that means that you indeed found out something interesting. Come on, tell me what it is, I won't tell anyone; I'm good at keeping secrets." Joker said whispering and covering his mouth with his hands.

Nonetheless, the clone remained firm in his position, and this made Joker say. "Well, I have a higher rank than you. So there won't be any problem if you tell me." He insisted.

The clone chuckled. "Oh? Higher than mine? ... Maybe in your galaxy. But in mine, I'm still the Supreme Leader of the Elemental Nations."

Joker could not help sighing in defeat. "Okay, okay, okay. Whatever you say, but I'm sure you'll tell the Commander. I'll just wait for her to return, and when you tell her what you don't want to tell me, I'll ask her." With that said, Joker turned back his chair, hearing the clone continuing

"Well, I won't tell her either. At least not now. Maybe later. It's nothing personal against you. It's just that I can't reveal this information; it's something that could complicate things significantly. So I prefer to keep this secret a little longer." The clone added, seeing Joker turning his chair again.

Joker at the words of Naruto nodded and left that aside, as his words seemed sincere. "Okay, sorry for being so insistent. You have your secrets, and we have our own. So when you feel that you must tell the Commander, do it. And the faster, the better. Believe me, when she's angry, she's scarier than a thousand of demons. Anyway, I'll return to my stuff." After that, the conversation ended.

The clone decided to continue his own; he remained in the cockpit a little longer before going to the CIC. But just as he was coming out of the cockpit, a door opened to his right.

He turned his head toward there to see Shepard and her team along with a person that Naruto could recognize as a salarian. However, this salarian looked quite different to the one that he saw on Omega. This one had many scars on his face, besides the clone could feel that he had much experience.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Professor Solus. Please follow me to the Communications Room to make you aware of the situation." The clone heard Shepard saying while he saw her pulling her helmet off her head.

Once she did, Shepard shook her head to get her hair well. Once she stopped, she noticed the clone's presence.

Shepard smiled slightly but then proceeded to retreat along with the Professor.

Her team followed her, but just as they passed by Naruto, they saw him moving toward Miranda, who without being able to deny it, felt quite intimidated. "I can feel that you are quite tense, did the Commander reprimand you or something?" The clone asked with a look of interest.

Shepard instantly turned to look, wanting to know what the clone was up to.

Miranda just looked at him, and the clone smiled when realizing it. Hence, he bowed slightly as he raised Miranda's right hand to kiss the back of her hand before she could react.

After doing that, the clone raised his head, realizing that Miranda was looking him with a touch of disbelief. "Oh, I'm just showing you that I'm not upset about what you've done, Miranda. So don't worry, I have no intention of doing anything bad to you. Only to your boss if he tries to get into matters that doesn't concern him." After that, the clone put both hands behind his back before turning around.

In doing so, he realized that Shepard was looking at him with a slight touch of jealousy. But she instantly shook her head and told Mordin again that they should go to the Communications Room.

Mordin had not uttered a word before, and when hearing what Shepard had said, he nodded and followed her. Along the way, Jacob intercepted them and followed them too.

Once they left, Zaeed could not help saying. "Hey, pretty boy," He said referring to Naruto.

The clone turned and asked ignoring the 'disrespect.' "What?"

Zaeed came closer while chuckling to stand right in front of the clone. "Is it true what Shepard said? That you gave the Illusive Man the shock of his life."

Miranda paid attention she wanted to know too. "My intention was not to scare him. I just wanted to make things clear. I think that now he will no longer interfere with the goals of the Commander and this galaxy." The clone replied.

Zaeed laughed again and continued as he left. "Well, let me know the next time you do something like that. Okay, see you around. If you want to talk, I'm on the Engineering deck."

The clone nodded as he watched Zaeed retiring. After that, he saw that Miranda passed by, and before she could get away, the clone stood to start walking by her side.

That bothered her a bit, but she remained silent as she headed to the elevator.

After the elevator had returned to the deck 2, she walked in as well as the clone, and this time, she could not help saying. "Mister Naruto, do me a favor and stop following me. I have many things to do, and I don't want you bothering me. I apologize for saying something that I shouldn't have said, so you don't need to speak to me as you did before." She said, and when she finished, the elevator door opened. She entered her deck before trying to go to her cabin.

However, the clone grabbed her hand. Therefore, she turned to face him. "Miranda, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm more than willing to listen to you. Though I know you won't admit it, I can feel that you are very frustrated, and you feel quite unhappy with yourself. When I was younger, I was also like that. But with time, I accepted myself for what I was. So if you ever need someone to talk about something that bothers you, don't hesitate to call me." The clone said placing his right hand on Miranda's shoulder.

Miranda could not deny that she felt good to hear Naruto's words, but she could not help asking. "Why would you do that? You and I don't know each other at all. Besides, there is what I tried to do. What makes you want to help me? I'm sure that you would have no problem to kill me." She stated with a straight face.

Upon hearing this, Naruto shook his head as he began to walk beside Miranda to her cabin. "I could do that, of course. But why should I? Death doesn't solve anything; in fact, in some cases, it can make things worse. Dialogue is always the best decision. Killing is an extreme measure only when words doesn't work anymore. Besides, you haven't done anything wrong; you only did something that you thought it was okay. I have also done such things; I have blindly followed orders from other people. So I couldn't reprimand you for doing something like that. As to why I would..." The clone paused as they reached the door of Miranda's cabin.

They entered, and after that, Miranda sat behind her desk and Naruto in front of her. Therefore, Naruto continued. "As I was saying, I would do it because I was like that too, Miranda. During my childhood, I also felt inferior. I hated the others around me and myself, for having a burden that I had never asked for and because everyone despised me due to it. But over time, and thanks to people who had actually understood me, I could move forward and stop thinking in that way. I want you to feel the same way. That you understand that people are there for you. I'm sure that the Commander will be there for you once you both get to know each other better. So, if you ever want to talk to me, just call me. I'm in the hangar of the ship. Anyway, I'm leaving; it was nice talking to you." After that, the clone stood up and turned around to leave the room.

When he was about to cross the door, Miranda's voice stopped him. "Naruto..." The clone instantly turned around to hear her say. "Thank you, I'll keep what you said in mind. But now, I must write a report to the Illusive Man. Don't worry, I'll only report him on the mission that I just had."

The clone did not see any problem with it, and then he said Miranda goodbye before heading to the elevator.

After the clone had come out, he started walking toward the Communications Room to hear what Shepard and the others were talking about.

Upon arrival, the room door opened automatically, and Shepard and the others looked at there.

They saw Naruto entering the room, but they did not pay much attention to him, and Shepard continued. "As I was saying. Don't kid yourself, Professor. Humans still come first in the Illusive Man's eyes. But this mission is too big for them to handle alone."

Mordin nodded, and Jacob continued. "The Collectors are abducting human colonists out on the fringes of Terminus Space." Jacob said with a serious look, looking at Mordin, who nodded again, and this time, he spoke hastily, in the classic salarian tone.

"Not simple abductions. Wouldn't need me for simple..." After saying that, the Professor started walking around the room with his hands behind his back.

Jacob followed him with his eyes and continued. "Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any kind of attack. There is virtually no evidence that anything unusual happened at all... except that every man, woman, and child is gone."

That drew Mordin's attention, who began to walk faster. "Hmmm, gas, maybe? No. Spreads too slow. Airborne virus? No. Slower than gas. Drugged water supply? No. Effects not..." And Mordin stopped there since Shepard raised her hand interrupting him.

"You don't need to sit there and guess. We collected samples from one of the colonies. I'd like you to analyze them and figure out how the Collectors did this." Shepard said.

Mordin when hearing all this nodded and then said. "Yes, of course. Analyze the samples. Going to need a lab." Mordin asked at the end.

 **"There is a fully equipped laboratory on the combat deck, Professor Solus. If you find anything lacking, please place a requisition order."** EDI's voice said echoing through the intercom.

That caught the Professor's attention, who began to look in all directions wondering who it was. But he concluded it was an AI.

Shepard confirmed his deduction, but she said that there was nothing to worry about. But Mordin could not help adding. "Cerberus more desperate than I thought to use an AI instead of humans."

Jacob after hearing this added. "The Collectors have taken tens of thousands of colonists. We'll do whatever we have to do to find them and stop them."

Mordin nodded in comprehension. "Yes. Of course. Can't risk being captured like colonists. Need to identify, neutralize technology. Need samples. Which way to the lab?" He finally asked, speaking in a hurry as usual.

Jacob upon hearing this went to the door. "This way, Professor," He said, motioning him with his hands to follow him.

Then they went out, leaving Shepard alone in the room along with the clone who had remained silent throughout the conversation. But he decided to speak once Shepard gave a tired sigh. "Are you okay?" He asked approaching to the table of the room.

Shepard nodded as she rubbed her neck. "Yeah, just a little tired. Those krogans... There were several of them on my last mission." She said stopping rubbing her neck before placing both hands on the table.

The clone smiled and said. "Well, you've kicked their asses. Though you keep surprising me. You have an admirable sense of honor, and I can say with certainty that your word is worth a lot." The clone stated looking at Shepard, who looked at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" She asked with a questioning face.

The clone leaned up against the room's wall and answered. "That moment when you found the Assistant of the Professor Solus with the batarians and promised them that you wouldn't do anything to them. Many would have done otherwise. I'm sure of it." The clone stated.

"Hmmm, did you read my mind again, mister 'I read your mind without permission'?" Shepard asked with a look of reproach, but with a small smile, though.

The clone realized what he had done, so he looked at the ceiling as he scratched his right cheek with his index finger. "Well, I wanted to know how your mission was... I didn't mean it." He apologized, now scratching his head and with an apologetic smile on his face.

Shepard could not help laughing slightly when seeing the clone in that way, but then she waved her hands and said that he had nothing to worry about.

After that, she decided to ask. "So, what's up? I thought you'd be with your original so that nothing bad happens to us."

The clone smiled and replied. "Well, I got bored, and I decided to explore the ship. Besides, my other clone is with the boss. So there is nothing to worry about."

After that, the clone stopped smiling and put a straight face, and Shepard realized that he was about to say something important.

"Shepard, I would like to discuss something important with you." The clone requested pulling away from the wall to start walking around the room with his hands behind his back.

The clone nodded and continued, knowing that what he was about to say could negatively affect his mission. "I just want to tell you something, but I hope that you don't discuss my reasons." The clone paused for a moment watching Shepard nodding and then he continued. "I know where the collectors are and how to reach them. But I can't give you the answers at this time."

Shepard opened her eyes at the statement, but she remained in her place. "Why can't you tell me? If you know how to reach them, then we should do it now since they won't expect it." Shepard asked, looking at the clone, who sighed and answered.

"We could do it, Shepard. But I don't want to rush the Reaper invasion. If they know that I'm here, then the invasion would immediately begin, or they would do something worse... That's something we can't let happen. Time is money right now, and if we hurry, the losses would be catastrophic. First I have to prepare everyone. I must teach them how to fight a Reaper, I must show them how they operate, but in particular, I must train them." The clone replied seriously.

That caught Shepard's attention considerably. "Train us? How? You said we don't have that Chakra that you use, so how can we do the things that you do?" She asked while seeing him walking across the room.

The clone moved closer her to say. "Chakra isn't necessary for some things. You just need toughness and the correct predisposition. That's more than enough." The clone replied.

Shepard upon hearing this scratched her right cheek as she looked away. "And… who will you train?" She asked without looking at him yet, making the same gesture that Naruto had done moments before.

The clone noticed it and could not help smiling, but then he answered. "Well, principally you. After that, I will talk to the representative people of this galaxy and convince them to create several squads that will be under my command. I believe that I'll have in two or three years several squadrons that will provide a substantial increase in the potential of the forces of this galaxy. But for this, I'll need your help when it comes talking to the council... I don't want to get aggressive when I make my goals clear. But I warn you that I won't take a no for an answer from those people. I'll do whatever it takes for them to cooperate, even if I have to force them to do it against their will." He said the latter with a very serious face that didn't show the slightest indication that he was lying.

Shepard smiled and nodded. "Well, don't worry; get aggressive with those bastards if you want. I won't stop you." Shepard replied with a smile.

The clone smiled just to hear Shepard speaking again. "And how would you train me? What do have in mind?" She asked interestedly, denying that she was intrigued would be an understatement. After all, being able to do even one of the things that Naruto was able to do was an idea that attracted her greatly.

The clone at this put his right hand inside his robe, and then he extracted a green scroll. He opened it and charged a bit of his chakra into it, thus extracting some weights of the scroll.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at the weights, but she said nothing since the clone approached her. "Tell me, Commander. What do you think of the idea of moving at a nearly sonic speed or even higher?" The clone asked.

Shepard blinked a few times at the question, but she continued since she could tell that the clone was talking seriously. "Pff. Well, that would be awesome. But, do you want to tell me that I'll be able to have that speed if I use those things?" She asked, pointing at the four weights that were in the hands of Naruto.

They were not very big, but Shepard concluded they were weights due to their shape. They were black, and they also had some red Kanjis.

The clone nodded at Shepard's question. "Yes, they are very particular weights. But don't think that with only wearing them you'll have that speed. You'll need a minimum of two years of arduous training without stopping using them. So, do you wanna try?" The clone asked.

Shepard nodded, and the clone spoke again. "Very well, go and take your armor off and then go to the ship's hangar. I'll equip you there, and when we arrive at the Citadel, we'll start with your training. Let me warn you that it will be very intense."

Shepard nodded but replied. "Okay. But before we start, I plan to go somewhere else. I want to go where the old Normandy crashed. I owe it to my former crew and their families." Shepard said with a bit of a pain in her words.

The clone upon hearing this nodded. "I understand... You want me to accompany you?" He asked softly, stepping further to face her.

Shepard shook her head and answered. "No, it's fine. I would like to go there alone."

The clone nodded again. "Okay, Shepard, see you in the hangar. Meanwhile, I'll continue exploring the ship, and in the process, I'll introduce myself to the new crewmember. Good luck and cheer up." The clone added, patting Shepard's shoulder.

"Thank you, Naruto..." She said, raising her head to meet his eyes.

They both stared at each other for a long moment as if there were nothing more interesting than that.

But before anything could 'happen', the clone turned around and started walking toward the door.

Shepard could realize only now what they had done. Nonetheless, when she realized that Naruto was leaving, she let out a small sigh as she shrugged her shoulders slightly.

After that, she heard the clone saying. "See you, Shepard. Good luck when you get to that place and don't be sad. You're too beautiful to be like this." The clone turned around, smiling and lifting his thumb to Shepard, who smiled slightly and then walked to the clone, thanking him for his words.

After a few seconds, they both left the room while Shepard walked toward the CIC. Once there, she heard Kelly saying that she had a new message at her private terminal, but Shepard decided to check it later.

So then, she set course to the Amada System, the place where the old Normandy had been attacked and destroyed a few years ago.

When Joker got the new coordinates, he set off after having filled the fuel tanks of the Normandy, and the clone upon realizing all this continued with his exploration of the ship before introducing himself to Mordin Solus.

* * *

**Notes**

**Well, I will say a few things before finishing.**

**Regarding** **the Harem, I think I won't do it. Moreover, I think it will only be a NarutoxShepard. But I could change that in the future to what I originally had planned.**

**But a Harem ... no. I don't think so; I don't believe it would be appropriate.**

**About the Lemons, I'll write them, but I won't post them here.**

**When I write the first lemon, I'll provide a link on my bio to the story on Adult Fanfiction (or somewhere else). There you will be able to read it.**

**I'll say when the chapters have lemons. I'm doing this to preserve my story. I don't want my story to be deleted.**

**This chapter was filler I think, in the following it is likely that they will arrive at the Citadel, and maybe things will get 'intense.'**

**But anyway, I think this would be all.**

**Greetings to everyone.**


	6. Chapter 5

Organic being, talking. "Hello"

Organic being, thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

* * *

** Chapter 5 **

The next day

Another day had passed when they had recruited Mordin Solus. Right now, the Normandy was heading to the nearest Mass Relay that would lead them to the Citadel.

The reason they were late was because Shepard had taken her time to visit the site where the old Normandy had crashed.

Therefore, everyone had waited for the commander until she decided it was time to leave.

She spent several hours there, but nobody had accompanied her as they knew she wanted to be there alone.

On that day, Naruto's clone had already memorized everything inside and outside the ship, even the smallest scratches that were on the windows. But he had not dissipated since the information's burden would have disturbed the concentration of the original and that could have caused an accident on the ship.

He had also talked to Mordin, who upon learning about Naruto's skills was quite interested in taking a 'few samples.' But he could not get anything because the clone had not allowed him due to various reasons, but the main one was because he could not take much damage or he could dissipate.

Hence, Mordin had no choice but to stop insisting and continue his research of the countermeasures for the paralyzing seeker swarms of the collectors.

Naruto at that time had not yet spoken to EDI on the improvements that he wanted to implement, as he had not found the time to do it. Therefore, he had decided to save it for later, maybe when he started training with Shepard.

After several hours, Shepard had returned. She now felt better since she had taken a burden off her shoulders. Afterward, she had instructed to put a monument there and send the nameplates of the missing crewmembers to their relatives.

Then she went to sleep because she was tired. When she woke up, she decided it would be best to go to the Citadel. For this, Shepard went to trace the course in the Galaxy Map. Once she did that, she went to talk with her crew while Joker headed towards the Citadel.

She did it because since her mission had started, she had spent more of her time with Naruto, and Shepard had been unable to speak with the rest of her crew as she should have.

Even though she did not dislike talking with Naruto, she did not want to put her team aside. Therefore, she decided to use the free time as they headed to the Citadel.

After a few hours of talking with her crew, Joker had said they were to pass through the Relay that would lead them to the Citadel. Thus, Shepard went to get her armor to her cabin, but not before telling her crew that they could rest at the Citadel if they wished it, and she had decided to bring two people to accompany her.

One of those people had been Garrus while the other one had obviously been Naruto. For this Shepard had to go to the hangar of the ship to let him know.

Once she arrived at the hangar, she walked around the place for a while before reaching the place where Naruto and his clones were. There she realized that both clones were staring at the original who was still floating and surrounded by the purple domed barrier.

The clones were aware of Shepard's presence, but they said nothing. They just continued watching the original, which made Shepard curious. "Why are you looking at him like that?" She asked as she stood beside them.

The clone on the left replied. "The Boss is about to finish his training. He'll be back in a few seconds."

And the other one added. "I wonder how long they were training ..."

The latter confused Shepard because she did not understand what he meant. After all, the original had just started training the day before. So the words of the clone had confused her a bit.

But she just remained silent waiting for Naruto until his training ended, watching him carefully.

In another dimension

In an area that had at one time been mountainous, which devoid of vegetation or any sign of life; stood three people. One of them was Naruto, standing in an open area, with folded hands and smiling while looking skyward, up there were Kurama and Red.

They were being attracted towards an enormous ball of a few thousand kilometers in diameter that had been created by several of the mountains that were now high in the sky.

Kurama, realizing the situation, shouted. **"GRRR ... RED, WE MUST DESTROY THAT DAMN THING OR** **IT'LL** **BE** **OUR END** **!"** Kurama exclaimed as he floated against his will towards the great group of rocks in the sky. It was, at least, three times the size of the moon of Naruto's planet. Naruto was still on land with his palms clasped as he continued increasing the size of his Chibaku Tensei.

 **"Hai** **,** **Kurama-sama!"** Red exclaimed as he crossed his fingers. **_"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)!"_** Red and Kurama yelled while creating one shadow clone each of them.

Instantly, the clone of Red positioned itself above the head of Kurama's clone while the original did the same, but above the original Kurama.

Naruto from the ground then saw that they started creating two giant Chakra balls that began to grow and grow until it reached a size that impressed Naruto. _"I didn't know that Red could help Kurama in making a Bijudama..."_ Naruto thought impressed, seeing them adding more chakra to the balls.

In the end, Naruto chuckled. "Guys, that won't be enough to destroy it!" Naruto exclaimed so they could hear him.

Red and Kurama could hear him clearly, but they just continued adding more Chakra while getting closer and closer to the ball of rocks in the sky.

 _"Although they won't destroy it, I should take cover, or I might regret it."_ Naruto thought as he saw them a few meters away from his Chibaku Tensei.

In the air, Kurama and Red decided they should stop adding Chakra to continue their plan. Red asked. **"Are you ready, Kurama-sama?"**

Kurama smiled slightly as he nodded **. "Now!"** The four of them exclaimed while turning around to throw the Bijudamas at full speed towards Naruto, who could only think. _"Shi ..."_

After that, there was a powerful explosion, one that shook the entire dimension while lifting a huge curtain of dust that rose up several hundred meters.

Red and Kurama had to cover themselves because the blast had reached even where they were, but that mattered little to them because they could now move freely.

And the best thing was that Naruto's Chibaku Tensei began to break itself while giant pieces of rocks fell hurtling towards land. Once the pieces made landfall, they shook the ground as if large earthquakes were occurring simultaneously.

Kurama and Red had to dodge them as they fell, trying not to end up crushed by the huge rocks.

After a few seconds, they landed. Kurama had to cover his eyes a little bit because the dust had not yet settled down, and Red had no problem as he had no face.

They just waited patiently since they both knew that their last attack would not kill Naruto because he was immortal.

After several minutes, the dust began to settle down, slowly revealing Naruto, who was sitting on the ground with a smile as he seemed to be regenerating part of his body.

Kurama and Red smiled as they approached him while Kurama decreased his size considerably. Once closer, they both looked at Naruto, who decided to speak. "You both tricked me. I didn't know you were planning something like that. I didn't even have time to use Kamui. It certainly took me off guard." Naruto stated with a smile as he looked at their eyes.

Kurama spoke next. **"I think your personality has rubbed off on me a little bit, being within you for so many years took its toll,"** Kurama added, also smiling.

Naruto chuckled at that, but then he stood up while shaking his tattered garments. "Well, it was an excellent training. Now I feel I've regained my power. I even think that I'm a bit stronger now. But I think it's time to return, guys. It's been a year since we started training, so we should return." Naruto said cracking his neck and his back because he felt sore after receiving the last attack.

Kurama and Red noticed it, but they didn't care as they had done much more damage to Naruto during the training. So they were satisfied for quite some time ago.

After that, Kurama did not wait a second and reentered in Naruto's body, making him fall to his knees due to the sudden increase in Chakra he had felt. However, he returned to his feet, shaking his head. "You can go back, Red. I'll let you know when I'll need your help." Naruto expressed, and after that, Red nodded and faded away as he wished good luck to his master.

Naruto then joined his fingers and also faded away from there.

Normandy's Hangar

Only a few seconds had passed since the moment the clones had said that the original would return, so Shepard had only stared at the original as well as the clones that smiled after a moment and dissipated themselves in puffs of smoke without saying a word.

Suddenly, she felt a similar feeling to when she was with the Shinigami or when she saw Kurama for the first time, but this feeling was not a scary or intimidating one.

It felt as if a powerful presence had suddenly appeared before her. She knew it was Naruto, but she did not understand why she could felt it so suddenly.

However, she continued observing while seeing the barrier around Naruto disappearing as he stopped floating until touching the floor of the ship.

After that, she saw that he slowly opened his eyes while starting to stand up.

Once he did so, Shepard saw him stretching himself a little bit before saying. "Good morning, Shepard. It's been a while."

Shepard raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It's been just a day," She replied.

"Maybe for you. But I was training for a whole year in a special dimension that I created to train after my naps." Naruto answered, now stretching his arms.

Shepard was not very surprised, after all, she already had an idea of what Naruto could do and what he had said was not too far-fetched. "Ah, I see. That explains why I felt as if you had suddenly appeared on the ship." She added.

Naruto nodded and continued. "Yes, I decided to take my consciousness with me and leave my body here on the ship. Anyway, it's not as if a year is a much time for me. After all, I already told you that the years passes in a heartbeat for me. It's a matter of perception. "

Shepard nodded before asking. "Are you aware of everything that has happened while you weren't here?"

Naruto nodded instantly. "Yes, thanks to my clones. When they dissipate, their experiences and memories return to me. So I'm aware of everything. You don't need to tell me anything."

Shepard nodded in understanding and continued. "Well, that's fine. Anyway, I came here to tell you that we're about to reach the Citadel, and I would like you to accompany me to speak to the council. After that, we can start my training." She said with a smile.

Naruto smiled back and replied. "Well, I like to hear that. But I have a request to make, Commander."

Shepard nodded and told him to continue, so Naruto smiled and continued. "Well, I was wondering if you can train me too. I want to learn how to use your weapons."

Hearing Naruto's request, Shepard could not help smiling. Therefore, she nodded and replied. "Well, it'll be a pleasure, 'cadet.'" She said jokingly.

Naruto felt a little discouraged by the rank that Shepard had given him, but then he smiled and replied. "If I am a cadet, then you'll be a Genin," He stated sticking his tongue out.

"Genin?" She asked confused.

Naruto smiled as he briefly explained Shepard about the system of ranks that previously ruled in the Elemental Nations as they both walked towards the elevator.

Shepard could not help laughing a few times when hearing the kind of missions that these 'Genin' took, but she had not cared that Naruto has given her that rank. After all, she knew it was just a joke as she had done it before.

They reached the deck number two, and there they headed towards the exit gate of the Normandy, the place where Garrus was already waiting for them, leaning back against the wall.

When seeing them approaching together, he smiled even more as he noticed that they both were talking and laughing. Hence, he got away from the wall to say. "Well, whenever I have the opportunity to see one of you, most often I see you together. Anyone would think that there's something between you two." He stated with a desire to embarrass them a little bit.

Shepard and Naruto looked at each other for a few seconds, they both smiled, and then they looked at Garrus, ignoring his attempt to make them feel uncomfortable, it was not as if they had not talked about it before.

Shepard was the one who spoke this time. "I have to spend time with my cadet so that he doesn't get lost or get too scared to all of this that is new for him. You know, a superior should always take care of their subordinates." She said chuckling.

That made Naruto's eyebrows twitch. "Hey, I'm not a child. You should respect your elders." He replied with a pout.

Now Garrus laughed as he followed Shepard and Naruto to the exit gate. Once there, the door opened, and the three entered the landing dock.

Shepard went to the front while the other two followed her from behind. Shepard walked to the Rapid Transit. They all boarded one and then it flew to the level 27 of Zakera.

During the trip, Shepard and Garrus saw Naruto changing his clothes. Shepard was not surprised, but Garrus was and could not help asking about how he did it.

In the course of the short trip, Naruto explained it to him, and after a few minutes, the shuttle reached Zakera. Everyone got out and walked forward.

There, Naruto saw several alien species, but one of them caught his eye; he could only describe it as a 'jellyfish.' He knew their race was the 'Hanar', but still, seeing one of them for the first time had been very striking for him.

He could also see a kind of green spider that was at the corner of the room using a console. Naruto did not know much about them since no one of the people he had had contact with until now had much information about them. All he knew was that they called them 'Keepers.' Therefore, Naruto thought of finding out a little more about them later.

Thus, he just looked back at the front, realizing that Shepard and Garrus were looking at him. "Ready?" Shepard asked.

Naruto smiled and replied. "Sorry, this is new to me; I couldn't help getting distracted."

"Don't worry, I understand." Shepard added and then she turned around to walk forward, followed by the men of her team.

As they walked, they could hear a woman's voice saying. "Got problem with collectors? Try Kasumi's credit services!"

Instantly, they all looked to where the voice came from, and there they saw an advertisement in which someone with a black hood was giving them her back.

Shepard went over there, and when facing the advertisement, it blinked for a moment before revealing a hooded woman. "Please tell me your password, Commander Shepard." The woman of the advertisement requested.

Naruto did not detect any malicious intent from the woman in the advertisement, but he was stealthily looking up, the place where the woman was controlling the advertisement with her Omni-tool.

Shepard hearing her petition answered. "Silence is golden."

Kasumi smiled and continued. "Good to finally meet you, Commander Shepard. Kasumi Goto. I'm a fan."

Shepard nodded and continued. "Has Cerberus filled you in on the mission?" Shepard asked.

Kasumi nodded. "Honestly, I'm shocked they didn't come to see me sooner. My fault for being so hard to find, I guess." She replied with a chuckle.

Shepard then decided to change the subject. "What's with the password and the sneaking around? Are you in trouble or something?"

Kasumi shook her head and then replied. "I'm the best thief in the business, not the most famous. Need to watch my step to keep it that way. I also needed to make sure all this was legit. And I have no doubts now - you're the real Commander Shepard." Kasumi stated.

Shepard nodded and asked one last question. "What brought you to Cerberus?"

"That's a bit of a story. Short version, they were looking for me, so I trailed them to find out why. Turns out they were looking for someone to join you on an important mission... and were offering a serious signing bonus. I had a thing I needed help with, so I made them a deal. And here we are. "

The latter made Shepard raise an eyebrow in intrigue and say. "I assume this deal is something I should know about ..."

Kasumi sighed. "Yeah, I guess it slipped their minds. I'm looking for my old partner's gray box. A man named Donovan Hock took it, and I'm planning to get it back."

Shepard nodded. "If that's what Cerberus promised you, we'll get it done."

Kasumi smiled and added. "It'll be fun. And if we're lucky, you won't even have to draw your gun." After saying that, Kasumi made the ad disappear and approached the edge of the floor of the upper position where she was watching Shepard and the others. Everyone looked up there to hear her saying. "We should probably wrap this up. You look pretty silly standing there talking to an advertisement. See you on the Ship, Shepard!" And with that said, she turned around and began to retreat without waiting for any other response from Shepard.

After that, Shepard looked back towards the reception to hear Naruto say. "Wow, that woman is hot. I can't wait to get to know her more, hehe." Naruto stated which naturally annoyed Shepard though he did not intend to do it.

Nevertheless, Shepard had remained silent to walk forward, hearing Garrus speaking. "I thought it might be a nice to come back here and see how it's changed. But it's just like it was. Same dirty streets, same unrepentant scavengers, same revolving-doors prisons. Being security here is a terrible job. This is exactly why I left." Garrus said walking slowly.

"Well, now I know where I shouldn't go to earn some money," Naruto added, and Garrus chuckled. After that, no one spoke again since Shepard had stopped right in front of the reception to talk to the woman who was there.

Garrus and Naruto heard her asking about the enhanced security at the Citadel, and the woman had replied that they were forced to increase security throughout the Citadel after the Geth attack to be better prepared for possible further attacks.

After that, Shepard thanked her for the answer and went to the gates that lead to the C-Sec station. When they were in front of it, it automatically opened, so everyone went in except for Naruto, which Shepard could see. "What's going on?" She asked.

Naruto looked at her as he scratched his head. "I think it would be better if I don't walk this way. This room has many identifying sensors. And as I'm not from this galaxy, then I would be delaying you. So see you when you pass this way."

But before he could leave, Shepard stopped him saying. "Wait, we can solve that. Just come in and then we'll talk to whoever is in charge."

Naruto stared at her for a moment, then nodded and walked into the hallway as the others.

Instantly, Naruto could feel that multiple scanners began to analyze him. He blocked some of its functions while he let the others analyze him without problems.

Naruto wanted to keep some things as a secret, for example, the composition of his body. He was sure that these sensors could detect his Chakra channels, and that was something he did not want to reveal.

He continued walking through the hall until seeing a turian C-Sec officer. There, the turian made them a final analysis that resulted in an alarm that rang for a while.

"Shut it down..." The turian said on his communicator because he believed that the analyzer had suffered a failure, but when hearing the answer on the communicator, he could not help saying. "What, do you seriously think...? Yeah, okay." After that, he cut off communication to look at Shepard.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am. Our scanners are picking up false readings. They seem to think you're... dead." The turian spoke as he pressed several buttons on his console.

"I was only mostly dead. Try finding that option on government paperwork." Shepard replied.

The turian chuckled and replied. "Heh. We need to get that cleared up for you. Why don't you talk to my Captain? He's just beyond the scanners, on the right. And take your human friend with you, we have no records of him, and he should be registered to avoid problems."

Shepard nodded, and the gate in front of her opened. Everyone continued forward before turning to the right to talk to Captain Bailey, who upon seeing them approaching stopped talking to the woman who was in his office.

Afterward, he looked at Shepard, who had stood before him. Therefore, Bailey decided to speak. "Yes, I see the problem already Commander Shepard. My console says you're dead."

"Your sergeant said you could help with that," She spoke taking a step forward.

Bailey nodded and replied. "Usually, you'd have to go through the Station Security Administration to reactivate your IDs. Then to Customs and Immigration to regain access to the Citadel itself. And probably a stop by the treasury... 'Spending a year dead' is a popular tax dodge" Bailey stated.

Obviously, Shepard looked at him with an 'are you serious?' expression. Although he could not see it due to her helmet, Bailey noticed it because of the position of her arms. Thus, he quickly added. "But I can see you're a busy woman... So how about I just press this button right here, and we call it done?" He asked as he leaned slightly to press a button under his desk.

Shepard at this smiled and nodded. "That'd be great."

Bailey did not need anything else, and after that, he wrote some things on his console. After a few seconds, he stopped writing and looked with a smile at Shepard. "Done. You're good to go."

Shepard nodded, but Bailey spoke again. "However, you should head up to the Presidium. The council would probably like to know that one of their lost Spectres is still kicking." Bailey stated.

Shepard nodded and replied. "I will. Having access to the Council and the Spectres' resources would be useful, besides..." She said the latter looking at Naruto, who was behind.

"Forget it..." Shepard continued, shaking her head.

Bailey nodded and spoke again. "As for your friend, tell him to get closer so I can register him too."

Upon hearing this, Shepard motioned for Naruto to approach, which he did.

Once Naruto was facing Bailey, he looked at him and said. "Very well, as I know you are busy people, I'll spare you all the bureaucracy. So I just need your full name, current place of residence, country of origin or home colony, blood type, date of birth, name of any of your family whom we can contact with, plus their phone numbers and yours... I think that would be more than enough." Bailey stated as he returned his attention to his console to record Naruto's data, who had a nervous smile on his face.

"W-well ... I don't think I can answer some of your questions. Can I give false information?" Naruto asked.

Bailey looked at him and replied. "Hmmm, I don't think that's possible, unless..." Then he looked at Shepard, and Naruto as well.

Realizing this, Shepard nodded. "Yes, you can, with Spectres' permission... Although I still have to go there so they can reinstate me as one, I don't think it'll be a problem."

Bailey did not need to hear anymore and then he told Naruto to get closer to provide the information. But before that, Naruto asked again. "Could I change this information in the future?"

"Of course, it wouldn't take long. Well, as long as you're with the Commander Shepard, it wouldn't be a problem." Bailey replied.

Naruto at this looked back at Shepard; he smiled and then nodded. "I will never leave her," he stated.

Shepard blushed slightly, but no one could see it because of her helmet. Even though Naruto had not said that in the sense that Shepard had thought, she did not care much.

However, after a few seconds, Naruto asked Shepard's help to complete some points since he needed help to complete them. Such as the name of a human colony.

Although Naruto could get that information just by reading someone's mind, he had decided to stop using that ability for the moment, since he had learned from Shepard that he should not abuse that ability at every opportunity.

After a few minutes, Naruto stepped away from Bailey, who nodded after obtaining all his information, then said. "Very well, sir... Menma Namikaze, you can now access into the public spaces of the Citadel without inconveniences." Bailey stated making Naruto smile.

After that, Bailey looked back at Shepard. "Anyway. Something else you need? Or can I get back to work?" He asked.

Shepard nodded and replied. "I should be going."

"You need anything else, let me know." Bailey added and after that, he returned to his own business while Shepard and her team left the station.

As they walked to the council, Shepard spoke. "Menma Namikaze? And why that name?" She asked as they walked out the station.

"Well, I should choose a name that the Reapers were not familiar with to avoid them knowing that 'Naruto Uzumaki' entered the Citadel. They were already here before, so it wouldn't surprise me if they have the data of everyone who enters this place." He answered.

He made a short pause while everyone stopped as they wanted to hear what he had to say, and then Naruto continued. "Namikaze is the surname of my father; I had never used it. Not because I didn't like it, but because my whole life I used the surname of my mother. My father was very powerful and influential in my world. But he also had many enemies, and since my parents died when I was a baby, to prevent their enemies from attacking me, the authorities in my village only gave me the surname of my mother. And Menma? Because it's the ingredient, I hate the most in the Ramen. So I think they won't believe that I'm using the name of something I don't like." He finished with a smile.

Shepard and Garrus nodded and turned around to walk forward, hearing Naruto speaking again. "By the way, Shepard. Do you know where I can eat some Ramen in this place?" He asked almost pleading.

Shepard looked at him for a moment; then she shook her head. "No, I don't know. But you could ask her." She answered pointing to a _VI (Virtual Intelligence)_ shaped as an Asari that was near the protective fence of the level where they were.

When Naruto heard what Shepard had said, he had felt quite discouraged because he had thought he would not get any information. However, when she had said he could ask the VI, he had felt reanimated.

Therefore, Shepard stepped aside so that Naruto could talk to the VI, and he had gladly approached since it seemed that she could tell him where to eat his favorite food.

Naruto approached her with a smile and saying. "Good morning, Avina." Naruto greeted the VI by her name. He already knew it since Shepard had requested information from another of these VI in the past.

"Welcome to the Zakera Ward, Menma Namikaze. I welcome you to your first visit to the Citadel. This is the Zakera Ward transportation hub. Public shuttles and shopping are available through the C-Sec security cordon." Avina reported.

Naruto cleared his throat. "* Ahem * I was wondering if you know where I can go and eat some Ramen. I would be very grateful if you could give me information about that."

"A few months ago, a man from planet Earth came to establish a stand of Japanese food to the Citadel. Among his dishes, the 'Ramen' is included. His location is in the Zakera Market District. A level below your current position." Avina informed, which make Naruto almost cry in happiness.

However, Naruto just nodded. "Thank you, if you had feelings, I would already be thanking you in a very 'special' way. But I think it's time to leave." He stated.

That annoyed Shepard and Garrus chuckled as he could understand very well what Naruto meant, and Avina quietly said. "Thank you for using Avina. Have a pleasant day."

After that, Naruto gave a swing to look at Shepard. "At last! What do you say, Shepard? Would you accompany me to eat some ramen?" Naruto asked extending his hand to Shepard, who stared at him before answering.

"No," She answered flatly.

Hearing her answer, Naruto was about to ask why, since he could hear she was a bit angry. But he did not because Shepard started walking forward again, heading for the Rapid Transit in that area.

"Haha, looks like I screwed up," Naruto stated laughing as he scratched his head and looked Shepard getting away, who could not hear what Naruto had said.

Garrus smiled and added as he approached Naruto. "Hehe, if I were you, I'd try not to make Shepard angry. You haven't seen her when she gets angry. Let me tell you she can be really scary." Garrus stated as he followed Shepard.

Naruto smiled again and started walking towards the Rapid Transit, where Shepard was already waiting for them.

Once Shepard saw both of them, without saying anything, she boarded the X3M shuttle. Naruto and Garrus did the same.

Shepard sat where the wheel was, and Garrus tried to sit next to her, but before he could, Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder, which stopped him. Therefore, Garrus looked back only to see Naruto passing to sit next to Shepard.

 _"I see."_ Garrus thought with a smile and then he sat in the back.

Shepard had not even turned when Naruto sat beside her; she just waited until everyone boarded and then she drove the shuttle off.

After a few moments that the skycar had taken flight, Naruto could not help looking outward, astonished due to what he was seeing.

The Citadel was incredible, especially all the movement that he could from his place, especially from the airspace. There were hundreds of vessels of all kinds flying around. Each of them was going somewhere on the massive space station that the Citadel was.

Shepard and Garrus could see Naruto looking out the windows as he occasionally showed a surprised expression.

They both smiled, and Shepard could not help saying. "It's strange to see you, of all people, getting surprised by something."

When Naruto heard Shepard speaking, he stopped watching the Citadel before lying down in his seat to answer with a smile. "Well, technology is something that I like a lot, and I must admit that the Citadel is incredible. Even though we are currently very technologically advanced in my world, I don't meddle in such things because I'm sleeping or because I don't want to bother my sons."

Garrus and Shepard raised an eyebrow at this, but since Garrus had no idea how Naruto's world was, Shepard spoke. "How advanced are they?" She asked forgetting that a few minutes ago she was angry with Naruto; it was quite difficult for her to stay mad at him.

Naruto, at this, answered. "Well, I don't know. I would say a lot. After all, the civilization that I created on my world has had several thousand years, much more than anyone of those in your Galaxy has had. Moreover, the first ones of my sons that I created shared my knowledge and most of my memories. So I'm sure that many of them have taken advantage of this knowledge to invent things that could help me on my mission. "

Shepard nodded at this, but this time, Garrus decided to ask. "Although I don't know much about what you are talking about. What is it that stopped you from seeing what your 'sons' have achieved so far?"

Naruto turned his head and replied. "As I told you, I spent a lot of time sleeping and sometimes, I had to make preparations to attract people to my world. They weren't short and simple preparations. They required a long time, especially not to alert the Reapers. Do you know how hard can it be to place a Mass Relay in an unknown place?"

Garrus nodded and decided not to ask anymore since he could clearly understand what he meant.

Nevertheless, Shepard spoke again. "Do you think you could ask for their help when the war starts?"

Naruto smiled and replied. "Of course, that was the reason they were improving all this time."

"It's good to hear that, now we just have to convince the council to help us so we can prepare everyone for the invasion," Shepard added smiling.

Naruto did as well, but after that, he looked at Shepard. "And what do you say now, Shepard? Would you go and eat some Ramen with me after talking to the council?"

When Shepard heard this, she gripped the steering wheel of the skycar tightly. "I... uh... Okay, but only if things go well on the council." She answered turning her head to look at Naruto, who was smiling and making a "victory" sign of with his fingers at her.

"I promise you that you won't regret it, Commander," He stated, referring to the Ramen.

Shepard, on the other hand, thought he meant to the 'date.' But she said nothing about it and just remained silent until reaching the Presidium, while Garrus and Naruto started talking for a while, especially about Naruto's 'sons,' and he had to explain to him what he meant.

After a few minutes of conversation, both men realized that Shepard had landed the X3M and after that, they all went down.

Naruto noticed that the gravity here was quite a bit lower. However, he said nothing about it as it didn't surprise him; nor did the gardens of the Presidium since for him his world looked nicer.

He just followed Shepard to the embassies of the Presidium without saying anything.

Everyone headed for the office of Councilor Anderson. Once there, the office door automatically opened, and they heard a man's voice saying. "Shepard will be here any-." Instantly, Anderson, who was the man who had said this, had turned around to look at the entrance and smiled when seeing Shepard approaching.

Therefore, he continued. "Oh, Commander. We were just talking about you." Anderson stated looking at Shepard, who had taken her helmet off to leave it on a table in the office.

Shepard when hearing Anderson shook hands with him while saying. "It's been a long time, Anderson. I hope the last couple years have treated you right."

Anderson smiled and replied. "There've been some rough spots. It's good to you have you back." He expressed getting a nod from Shepard.

Just then everyone could hear another voice in the room, a male one. "We've heard many rumors surrounding your unexpected return. Some of them are... unsettling."

Shepard turned to the right and there she could see the other three council members as holograms near the wall, the one who had said that was the salarian Councilor.

Then the asari Councilor continued. "We called this meeting so you could explain your actions, Shepard. We owe you that much. After all, you saved our lives in the battle against Saren and his Geth." She stated with a bit of respect in her words.

After hearing that, Shepard glanced at Naruto, who was also watching the Councilors. Then Shepard continued. "The Collectors are abducting human colonists in the Terminus Systems. Worse, they work for the Reapers." She stated bluntly.

That apparently caught the attention of the council members, but the turian Councilor could not help saying. "The Terminus Systems are beyond our jurisdiction! Your colonist knew this when they left Council Space."

Nonetheless, Anderson decided to remind him Shepard's words. "You're missing the most important part, Councilor. The Reapers are involved."

The turian Councilor snorted and sarcastically replied while making quotation marks with his fingers. "Ah, yes. 'Reapers.' The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim." He replied in a mocking tone but finishing with a quite serious face.

Anderson turned around to look at her, but before he could say anything, Shepard held up a hand to stop him.

Anderson just looked at her carefully as she stepped forward. "I sensed that you'd say something like that, that's why... Naruto, I'll leave the rest to you." After that, she took a few steps backward while Naruto took them forward.

Once close, Naruto bowed slightly as he carried his right hand over his left pectoral, but before he could speak, the turian Councilor asked. "Who are you?"

After hearing that, Naruto raised his head and answered. "Very good... morning? First of all, I hope we can have a civil conversation where I don't have to resort to violence." Naruto began, causing the council members to squint their eyes at the words he had chosen to start the conversation.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, leader of the Elemental Nations. The last Shinobi and the man charged with destroying the Reapers." Naruto stated and bowed again.

"The Reapers' story again, I've said..." The turian Councilor began to say, only to be interrupted by Naruto, who spoke.

"I've heard quite clearly what you said. I understand that it's hard for you to believe that something like the Reapers could exist. But I can show to all of you that they indeed exist if I may." Naruto replied politely.

That caught their attention, but 'somebody' still thought it was nonsense. But before the other Councilors could add anything else, Anderson spoke.caught their attention, but 'somebody' still thought it was nonsense. But before the other Councilors could add anything else, Anderson spoke.caught their attention, but 'somebody' still thought it was nonsense. But before the other Councilors could add anything else, Anderson spoke.

"If this young man has a way of proving the existence of the Reapers, I vote so we can see his proof," Anderson said, initiating a vote on the council.

Instantly, the other Councilors looked at each other, so the next one to speak was the turian Councilor. "I vote no. I still think it's something silly and a simple fantasy story."

Anderson and Shepard shook their heads due to the stubbornness of the turian, but they said nothing and just waited for the following vote, which in this case was the salarian Councilor. "I also vote no."

They shook their heads again, but Naruto just kept quiet waiting for the vote of the asari Councilor, who was silent for several seconds until she came to a decision. "If there's evidence, then we should see it. I vote yes."

That brought a smile to Shepard and Anderson, but before they could celebrate anything, the turian Councilor spoke again. "It seems that we have not reached an agreement. Therefore, I think this meeting is..." But once again, he was interrupted, this time by the salarian Councilor.

"Though I still don't believe that this young man can show us anything. I will give an opportunity to the woman who saved my life just to see where this goes. So, those who agree that Shepard gives her vote, say yes."

Instantly, Anderson and the asari councilor said yes. Therefore, Shepard smiled and voted to see Naruto's evidence, who smiled slightly because of it.

The turian Councilor just accepted the decision and did not show his disapproval. Thus, Naruto spoke. "First of all, are you able to see everything that is in this room?" He asked with a bit of insecurity.

The Councilors nodded, and the asari Councilor answered. "Yes, we can clearly see everything in that room."

Naruto nodded and continued as he placed his hands on the Tiger seal. "Very well, then you won't have any problems seeing this. So here we go, and please I ask you not to be startled by what will happen now."

No one said anything they just looked at Naruto, who after saying those words began to make several hand seals at high speed before whispering a few words that nobody could understand.

The Councilors and Garrus strangely looked at Naruto, but their expressions changed to surprised ones when they saw the room losing shape.

The walls seemed to be melting while the roof began to darken slowly until after a few seconds, they all could hear the sound of lightning. Meanwhile, those who were in the room could feel a blizzard blowing them, and slowly, everything started to take shape.

They were now in another place; it was a place near a beach. It was dark, and it looked like it was about to rain. They turned around, and they could see in the distance the ruins of an ancient city.

The other three Councilors were amazed when seeing the sudden change that had taken place in the room. They knew it was not a simulation because the Presidium did not have that kind of technology due to security issues. However, they were surprised because Naruto had suddenly disappeared.

Those who were in the room then heard that the lightning had increased in intensity. They looked up and could see that the clouds were completely black while the lightning made said clouds shine.

After that, they felt with surprise as raindrops began to fall upon them. Anderson, who did not know how this could be even possible, tried to say something, only to discover that he could not speak.

That took him aback, but before he could get nervous because of it, one thunderous voice was heard echoing around. "Calm down, Councilor. There's nothing to fear, now I'll show to all of you the evidence of the Reapers' existence."

Everyone recognized the voice as Naruto's, who then continued talking. "A day like this, around ninety-nine thousand six hundred ninety-eight years ago, we commemorated the anniversary of the triumph of the Elemental Nations against a criminal organization that wanted to dominate my world. It had already fallen the night and after the celebrations, everyone had gone to rest after a big party around the whole continent. Obviously, people were tired. Therefore, they all went to sleep..."

The Councilors were extremely confused when hearing the number of years that Naruto had mentioned, and the asari Councilor wanted to ask about it, but she realized she could not speak nor move from her place.

She turned her head and noticed that the other two Councilors were also suffering the same since both had nodded at her. The turian Councilor seemed to be a little perturbed, but the salarian Councilor was quieter yet somewhat surprised.

Thus, she turned to look forward to continuing hearing the story. Later she would make the appropriate questions.

Then Naruto continued with his story. "It was then that everything started. It was about two in the morning; it was the moment that a small group of Reapers came to my world with the intention of retrieving a device and simultaneously, harvest us..." Naruto's voice paused, and just then everyone could hear mighty horns coming from the sky.

Those in the 'room' looked up while Naruto configured his 'illusion' so that the other council members could see as well.

Surprisingly, the council members saw four giant starships like the one that had attacked the Citadel, descending from the sky accompanied by three smaller ones. All of them were honking their horns and descending until landing on the ruins of the village that they could see in the distance.

Then Naruto continued. "They arrived at my clan's village in an attempt to retrieve a certain artifact as they believed that said artifact was still there. But in my youth, I had already retrieved it. So after being in that place for several hours without finding any trace of the artifact, they had no choice but to go to the nearest villages to start their attack..."

After that, the room underwent a change again. Now everyone could see that the group of ships was firing their cannons at a small village called 'Yu no Kuni' and killing almost all of its inhabitants with their first attacks. Meanwhile, the few survivors were turned into 'husks' by some spikes that the Councilors had seen the largest ships throwing to the ground.

"After their first attack, the Reapers went from village to village, killing and turning as many people as they could. Until..." They heard the powerful voice echoing throughout the place while everything underwent changes again.

Now, Shepard and the others in the room felt vertigo since they were high in the sky, right next to the big ships that were floating towards another village surrounded by a high circular wall. But they quickly realized that they could not fall, so they just stood still watching the Reapers approaching said village.

It was still dark, and the rain did not cease, the Reapers had already made a great slaughter in a few hours without anyone realizing it.

Therefore, believing that no one would detect them, they continued their flight to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. But before they could reach the village, a yellow flash appeared right in front of them. "Enough! You have already gone too far."

They all heard Naruto, who was floating in front of them. He looked completely different from the one that Shepard and the Councilors had seen.

His clothes were different; he wore a dark red coat with black flames; a black suit; and a band tied at his waist that had something written but it meant 'Great Shinobi Nation.'

The expression on his face was also very different; this Naruto did not look so wise, yet he seemed very calm and serene; as if his life had been just peace since a long time ago.

That was something that pleased Shepard since she could not see even a slight hint of sadness or guilt in that face. There was only the severe face of a man willing to do anything to defend his loved ones.

The Reapers knew the newly appeared man, but they cared little and started charging their guns before shooting their beams at Naruto, who saw the need of disappearing in another yellow flash to dodge something that could have been quite problematic if it had hit him.

The beams struck very close to the walls of Konoha, which made Naruto growl angrily and appear before the Reapers while making the Seal of the Horse. _"Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku (Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation)"_

Then everyone saw Naruto with amazement as he expelled from his mouth a giant wall of flames that completely covered the seven Reapers while the attack extended itself several hundred meters backward.

Naruto continued performing the technique until after a few seconds he was forced to dodge a beam that came out of the wall of flames, which went quickly towards him. So with no choice, he had to cancel his technique while descending slightly from the air to dodge said beam that this time struck the wall of Konoha, destroying it into pieces and causing a great explosion a little further ahead which destroyed some buildings that were nearby.

The Ninjas were already aware of the invaders' presence because Naruto had ordered them to take the civilians to the shelters and commanded them to be ready for anything. Naruto had also informed the other villages, which had quickly received the message from their leader and they had begun to take their civilians to their shelters for any type of emergency while the Ninjas began to prepare themselves for a possible conflict with an unknown enemy.

Naruto after dodging the beams looked back to where the giant machines that were covered by a black curtain of smoke were, but it slowly dissipated and revealed they had not received the slightest damage.

"Impossible... That had to burn them completely." Naruto whispered impressed because they had not received any damage. But he left that aside as he began dodging the fast beams of the machines that were starting to stretch his patience.

But after a few seconds, Naruto could not help grunting with annoyance since they were taking the opportunity to shoot several of their beams at Konoha. "ENOUGH ALREADY!" Naruto exclaimed angrily, he raised his right hand and made appear a white sphere that began to grow.

Then the vision focused on Naruto and everyone could see that his eyes resembled a toad while the ball in his hand was enormous. _"Senpou: Fuuton Rasen Shuriken (Sage Art: Wind Style Rasen Shuriken)."_ Then Naruto released the already gigantic disc of chakra at the Reapers, who did not have time to shoot at it. Therefore, they tried to get out of its way, but not all of them could, and two of the Destroyer-class Reapers and one of the Sovereign-class were affected by the technique.

This time, their shields could no longer resist the powerful technique that ended up cutting them into pieces while it disintegrated them due to the sudden expansion and subsequent blast of the jutsu, which this time could catch by the tentacles of three other Sovereign-class Reapers, which suffered heavy damage but they could still fight.

However, Naruto had no plans to put at risk one of his villages. Hence, he repeated the process, but this time with other variations of the Rasengan, destroying the rest of the Reapers, who uselessly tried to attack him.

After that, Naruto stopped using the Natural Chakra that Kurama had collected and landed on the ground, to go to what was left of one of the smaller machines.

Naruto sensed that the part that remained intact was its head, so he began to examine it carefully until some white lights turned on and a red one did it where its main gun was.

Naruto did not detect anything hostile, so he remained silent. **"Uzumaki Naruto..."** Said a husky and very powerful voice.

Naruto raised an eyebrow at that. "You know who I am?" He asked since he had no idea who they were.

 **"Harbinger speaks of you... Don't fight, give us the artifact and become part of the cycle."** The voice replied.

Naruto raised an eyebrow again since he did not know what he meant. "I don't know who this 'Harbinger' is, and I neither know which artifact you are speaking about. What do you want from here? Leave us alone." Naruto said as he felt several Ninjas near his position.

 **"We have decided to make you part of the cycle. You cannot stop us, just give us the artifact and become a part of us."** The Reaper replied.

Naruto growled, but he had not done anything since he still had questions. "You still didn't tell me what that artifact is. Besides, if you attack us, I assure you that we will fight back." Naruto stated.

The Reaper monotonously replied. **"You cannot win. We are many."**

"We'll see about that..." Naruto spoke, but the Reaper continued.

**"You cannot comprehend the magnitude of our presence. All you can do is give up and leave us to bring order. Give us the artifact."**

Naruto upon realizing the Reaper's insistence regarding the 'artifact' could only think of one thing; maybe that would explain the mysteries of the 'Apple' that he found several years ago.

Therefore, Naruto asked. "Do you mean this?" After that, Naruto carried his hand to his waist and pulled a scroll out from his ninja pocket to extract something that was sealed in there.

The Reaper then saw a circular object that was shining in his hand. **"Give us the artifact."** The voice of the Reaper sounded  even louder than before.

Naruto then understood it, but he decided to ask. "I see... What do you want from it? What do you want to do with it?"

 **"It's the key to access other worlds and bring order to them. Give us the artifact."** The Reaper replied.

Naruto sighed, but then he stood firm and made one last question. "If I give it to you, will you promise me to leave this place? I don't want to start a war much less for something like this. I don't want to put innocent lives in danger."

 **"We have decided that all of you will be part of the cycle. Surrender, give us the artifact and become a part of us."** The Reaper sentenced, which made Naruto bow his head.

But after a few seconds, he raised it and the Reaper saw that his eyes changed to purple. "Well, I don't think I can do anything more..." After that, Naruto raised his right hand and pointed it to the Reaper.

"Tell your friends that we will be waiting for them and that we will fight them... _Shinra Tensei (Almighty Push)_!" After saying those words, everyone saw a force being expelled from Naruto's palm. A force that sent the Reaper hundreds of meters backward while said technique destroyed several hectares of forest.

The Reaper stayed completely dysfunctional due the pressure of the last attack of Naruto, who, after contemplating this, gave a swing and declared. "Get ready! A war is about to begin. Inform everyone about this. We must prepare ourselves for this imminent war."

All the Ninjas, who had gathered there, nodded and then disappeared in puffs of smoke to go to get the word out to everyone while Naruto made clones so that each of them inform the rest of the Shinobi villages about the war.

After that, the room changed again, and everyone saw something similar to what Shepard had seen when she arrived at Naruto's planet. The only difference was that Naruto had not shown them the weapon that he used when there was almost no Shinobi resistance. He just showed them the end of the Reapers and the Shinobi world.

After that, the room went completely dark, and everyone could hear Naruto's voice echoing again. "And that's what happened..." Then the room began to regain its original shape. After a few seconds, everyone saw Anderson's office. Naruto was in front of the Councilors' projections, and Shepard and the others behind him.

Subsequently, there was an awkward silence for several minutes. No one said anything because they were surprised, except Shepard since she had seen this before, but some things were new to her.

But eventually, Naruto spoke. "That's my evidence. I hope it was more than enough to make you believe that the Reapers are a real threat."

But eventually, Naruto spoke. "That's my evidence. I hope it was more than enough to make you believe that the Reapers are a real threat."

However, the turian Councilor refuted. "How do we know it was not a simulation that Anderson placed in his office? There are many inconsistencies in that 'vision' which makes me believe that it was a simple simulation to make us spend resources on a nonexistent threat."

"I would never do something like that," Anderson replied stepping forward, annoyed by the words of his colleague.

This time, the asari Councilor decided to speak. "I also think that there were many inconsistencies. Such as the number of years that you mentioned. That you have been able to defeat ships like these by yourself, and that you could talk in the asari language." The Councilor said. Even though she believed the Reapers were a real threat now, she still had her doubts about the truthfulness of Naruto's evidence.

The latter that the Councilor had said caught the attention of the other Councilors, and before Naruto could reply, the salarian Councilor added with confusion. "I think they were speaking in the salarian language."

The turian Councilor also began to look at them with a look of curiosity since he could swear they were speaking in his mother tongue.

The Councilors did not need to resort to the translator because they spoke several languages, among them, several of the human languages.

"Ah, I see what's going on." The turian Councilor spoke. "The simulator surely had a translator Software. I see, I think there's no need to continue this anymore. We don't need to keep hearing his lies." He finished.

Naruto could not help sighing after hearing the Councilor speaking in that way, so before he could retire, Naruto decided to ask. "Before you leave, Mr. Councilor. I would like you to answer me a question."

The turian Councilor just looked at him, so Naruto took this as a yes and proceeded. "I would like to know why you refuse to see the truth. I can sense that the other two Councilors are already sure of the threat that the Reapers represent. They're just a little bit confused by some things that I'll explain in a moment, after convincing you that the Reapers are real and not just an invention of the Commander or mine." Naruto stated as he carried his hands behind his back and stood firmly.

The turian Councilor couldn't believe that. Thus, he looked at his colleagues to tell him he was wrong, but in doing so, he realized that they both had nervous looking faces as if what Naruto had showed them minutes ago had left them quite disturbed.

"Come on, don't tell me you believed in his words. There must be another explanation. We can't spend the Council resources on something we don't have a clear evidence." Sparatus, the turian councilor, said.

Shepard was tired; that's why she stepped forward and exclaimed. "Don't you realize? What the hell do you think the Sovereign was? What further proof do you need?" She asked angrily because of his skepticism.

Sparatus was disgusted by Shepard's insolence. Nonetheless, before he could say anything, Tevos, the Asari Councilor, spoke. "Sparatus, you're more obstinate than usual. I understand that the idea of cooperating with other races is not to your liking, even more with humans after the First Contact War that you had against them. But they have just shown us a strong evidence that there is a large threat lurking. Therefore, you should leave your differences aside and try to cooperate, at least until we find a way to defeat the Reapers..." Tevos stated, clearing up the doubts she had a moment ago about the existence of the Reapers. However, she still had her doubts about what Naruto had shown them.

"I also agree with what Tevos just said. If what we have seen is 100% accurate, then it would be best to start preparing ourselves, and you..." Valern, the salarian Councilor, said as he looked at Naruto.

"You'll have to prove you can do what you've done in your evidence. On Sur'Kesh, we'll be more than happy to see your skills to verify its accuracy." Valern continued.

Tevos added. "I will also want to check your skills on Thessia, if they're true, you will help a lot in this conflict."

Naruto nodded and then everyone looked at Sparatus, who eventually sighed in defeat. "Okay, I want to see that too. If you can do what you showed us in your... evidence. Then I will also support that we use our resources to prepare ourselves for the supposed battle. I'll be waiting for your arrival on Palaven. Don't be late, or I'll believe that they were outright lies."

Naruto nodded and then continued. "I'm very pleased that we have reached an agreement without me having to resort to violence..."

That drew the attention of the Councilors who felt that there was a slight taste of threat in his words, and Sparatus spoke again. "How do you dare to threaten us?" He asked upset.

Naruto looked at him and shook his head. "Sorry, that wasn't my intention. It was just something I had planned to do. I had the intention to force you to cooperate if this meeting didn't go as I wanted. I am not one for games; I needed you working, and I was willing to force you. The lives of trillions of people depended on the outcome of this meeting, after all. So please, excuse me again if my words sounded like a threat, but I didn't want to hide my intentions to my new allies." He replied, bowing slightly.

Sparatus was not satisfied with his words, but before he could say anything else, Tevos took the floor. "And how would you have done that?" She asked interestedly.

Naruto turned his head to her and replied. "I would have put you all in an illusion that would have placed you at my mercy. But it's something I don't plan to do because we have come to an agreement. So I see it as something unnecessary."

Upon hearing that, Valern brought his fingers to his chin as he said. "Hmm, mental control. Interesting, I would like to discuss that ability of yours." He requested with little doubts on Naruto's abilities because he could hear his honesty.

"Okay, but you must understand that some things should be kept as a secret. There are still many things that need to be explained, but I think it would be better to try those points personally. But now, I have nothing more to say. I would just ask you not to comment with anyone about what you've seen and what we've talked about." Naruto added.

"Sure, the council meetings are always kept as a secret," Tevos replied.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction and then Valern continued. "As for you, Shepard. We can't help you yet. The Terminus Systems are out of our jurisdiction. So there's little or nothing we can do, but still, we'll allow you and your crew to do the job. For that reason, we'll reinstate your status as a Spectre."

Sparatus added. "Besides that, you must limit your operations to the Terminus Systems and keep a low profile. Remember that you're working with Cerberus, and we can't let others think that the Council is helping an avowed enemy of the Council. It would cause retaliation."

Shepard nodded and replied. "I accept your offer."

Tevos continued. "Good luck with your investigation, Shepard. We hope for a quick resolution... and a quick end to your relationship with Cerberus." She expressed before looking at Naruto.

"As for you, I'll be waiting on Thessia. I'll take a flight to go there quickly. So when Shepard and you have some time, go to my planet." After that, Tevos had proceeded to end the call, but she did not do so because Naruto spoke before.

"Uhm, you don't have to. I've already sent someone to the place where you are..." Naruto stated while scratching his head.

"What do you mean?" Valern asked.

Naruto smiled a bit nervously as he continued scratching his head. "Well, while you were watching that vision, I started looking for your location. Remember that I had planned to 'mind control' you. And when I found your localizations, I sent a clone of mine to that place. But don't worry, that clone will answer all your questions, and he'll be able to send you to your home planets without any problems. He'll tell some things that we couldn't discuss here. If you have any questions, just ask him. "

The Councilors only stared at him in disbelief, but then Tevos ended the communication.

After that, the Councilors looked at each other, and before they could say something about it, they all heard someone shouting behind them. "Hey!"

The Councilors when hearing this voice slowly turned around in shock, just to see 'Naruto' going upstairs to where they were.

Upon arriving there, the clone realized that all of them were staring at him with wide eyes, so he decided to talk. "Well, I see that the Boss has reached an agreement with you. It seems I won't have to do what I came to do. Anyway, the Boss just gave me new instructions. Tell me, do I take you to your planets?" He asked for some reason quite impatiently, looking specifically at Tevos.

Tevos could see the look of impatience that the clone was giving her, but she did not pay much attention to it and just shook her head. "And how would you do that?" She asked, now looking better at the clone. In the communication, the image of Naruto was not very clear, but now she could see that he was quite handsome.

But she had stopped examining him when she heard the response of the clone. "It's simple. You'll see it soon, now..." Then they saw him crossing his fingers and instantly two puffs of smoke appeared to his side revealing two other clones, which made the Councilors jaws drop.

The main clone then spoke while carrying his fist in front of his mouth. "* Ahem* as I was the first clone, then I will go to the planet of the Blue beauties... I mean, Thessia." He announced with a superior look.

The other two clones were obviously against this, but they said nothing. They just raised their middle fingers and pointed them to the clone who continued with that look that made them want to punch him right in his face.

But to avoid this, each of them approached at one counselor. The one at the right towards Sparatus and the left one towards Valern. And before either of them could say anything, the clones had disappeared along with the Councilors who did not feel at all well when feeling their first trip in the Kamui.

Tevos had seen this with eyes wide open, quite disconcerted by the sudden disappearance of her colleagues. However, she left her state when she saw the other clone stepping forward, so she asked a little nervous. "Is it s-safe?"

The clone upon hearing this gently grabbed her hand as he gave a warm smile. "Trust me, nothing bad will happen to you. Count on it." The clone finished kissing her hand.

The clone then raised his head, seeing that the Councilor was smiling. "Well, you're quite daring. But, I would like to know a little more about you on my planet... in private." She said coquettishly.

The clone smiled and without a word, he disappeared in his Kamui along with the Councilor, heading to her home planet to discuss the relevant points on the defense against the Reapers.

In Anderson's office, those present was congratulating an embarrassed Naruto, who could not help scratching his head with a smile on his face. "Hahaha. It was nothing." Naruto stated with a blush of shame as he continued hearing the congratulations of the others because he had convinced the council about the Reapers' existence.

But after a while, Anderson could not help saying. "Though I'm also interested in seeing those skills of yours. Maybe we could go to Earth one of these days; it's been a few years since I've been back there. I could use a vacation as we prepare ourselves for the Reaper invasion." Anderson spoke while rubbing his neck due to fatigue.

Shepard smiled at that but said nothing as the door of Anderson's office swung open. Shepard instantly pulled the smile away from her face to change it to a serious one as she saw a man with an elegant white suit entering the room. "Anderson, we need to talk about..." The man said, but stopped abruptly at the sight of Shepard in the room.

"Shepard! What are you doing here?" He asked with anger in his words.

Shepard looked at him defiantly and answered. "I've got a long list of people I didn't want to see, and your name is right at the top," Shepard stated pointing at him with her right index finger.

Udina, who this man was, took a few steps forward as he glared at Shepard. "The feeling is mutual, believe me. Your return is a bureaucratic nightmare for us." He stated.

But before they could continue showing their discontent among themselves, Anderson decided to speak. "I invited Shepard here to speak with the council. We just finished our meeting."

Udina shook his head and asked baffled. "You what? Councilor, does the words political shit-storm mean anything to you?" He asked with a dismissive tone.

Shepard was tired; the good mood had been ruined in a moment because of him. But she contained herself and spoke as gently as she could. "I'm here because the fate of humanity is at stake. That's what you should care about." She stated.

That hardly mattered Udina, who replied. "All you soldiers think alike. You charge head first into a problem with no regard for the long-term consequences!" He exclaimed angrily.

However, Anderson decided to put a stop to this. "I make the decisions around here, Udina. Your job is to clean up the mess I leave behind. Understand?" He asked.

Udina growled slightly, but then sighed and answered. "Of course, Councilor. Given the potential size of this one, I'd better get started. I'll be in my office." And with that said, Udina turned around and left his office.

Seeing him leaving, Shepard and Anderson sighed while shaking their heads, and Naruto, who was a little behind them, could not help saying. "I wouldn't mind killing that guy right now. Wow, he got on my nerves very quickly." He stated.

Everyone chuckled but then Shepard and Anderson walked away to catch up because they had not seen each other for quite some time.

Naruto and Garrus patiently waited while both of them spoke about what had happened a few minutes ago.

After about 15 minutes, both realized that Shepard and Anderson returned to where they were. Hence, they both stopped talking to pay attention.

"Well, that would be all Anderson. I'll return if you need me again. Well, I think I'll return to take you to Earth so you can see there what Naruto has to show. For now, we'll retire to continue our mission." Shepard said

Anderson nodded and continued. "I would appreciate that; I'll send you a message when I'm ready. Right now, I'm a little busy so that will have to wait a bit longer. Even though I have no doubts that Naruto can do everything we saw, I'd still like to see what he's able to do with my own eyes. It'll be a unique experience." Anderson stated

"Very well. It was nice talking to you, Anderson. I'll see you soon." Shepard said as she shook hands with Anderson.

After a few seconds, the rest said goodbye to Anderson and everyone left his office while Shepard grabbed her helmet before returning to Zakera.

Along the way, Garrus said he would take another Rapid Transit since he said he would buy a new armor because the one he had had been damaged by the explosion on Omega. Though he had said this because he wanted to leave Shepard and Naruto alone to have their 'date.'

On the way back to Zakera, Shepard had felt a little nervous because the last date that she could remember was in her days as a gang on Earth when she was 16. But that was several years ago and back then she was just a brat who had no clue about anything, and now she was about to have a date with a man who had much more experience and who was several thousand years older than she was.

She was afraid of spoiling it and pushing Naruto further away. She did not want Naruto thinking that she was a boring woman who only thought about the Alliance, in completing her missions and so on.

She also liked to hang out, go dancing, drinking with friends, feed her fish, among other things, but the fear of ruining everything was there.

But Shepard had no idea what Naruto liked, after all, Naruto was from an entirely different world from hers.

Naruto could feel that Shepard was a little nervous; he did not know the reason for it so to calm her down a bit he decided to talk while Shepard continued driving the shuttle. "So tell me, Shepard. How long have you been in the Alliance?"

Shepard at Naruto's voice instantly left her thoughts and answered. "Thirteen years. I joined the Alliance when I was eighteen." She replied, then she asked because she wanted to take the opportunity to learn more about Naruto. "And you? At what age did you become a ninja?"

She remembered that Naruto had said he had joined a secret organization of his village at an early age, but he had not given many details because he had just mentioned it.

Naruto brought his fingers to his chin as he began to think. "Hmm, let me think... If I remember well, it was when I was about six years old. Yeah, I think so." He replied.

When Shepard heard that, she this turned her head to the right and looked at him. "You must be kidding. I believed you had started your career at the age of fifteen when you said 'early.' But six years old? Wow. And what did you do as a child there? If you don't mind answering."

Naruto smiled and shook his head. "No, it doesn't bother me. I'll answer all the questions you have, Shepard." He paused and then continued. "In the beginning, I only trained. I went through many things in that place, and after half a year, they began to send me on missions. They weren't simple ones. Many had to do with murders, kidnappings, extortions, blackmail, manipulation, and all those dark things that a government wouldn't do in public. We acted in the shadows; we were the Root." Naruto replied looking at Shepard, who could not help asking.

"You killed since your childhood? I'm sorry." Shepard said, a little sad when imagining a child having to do those things without having to enjoy their childhood.

Naruto shook his head and continued. "You don't have to. I didn't dislike what I did. I can say that I enjoyed doing it. It kept me distracted; it made me think about other things than hatred or revenge. Though at first it wasn't easy for my first kills, eventually I got used to it and stopped thinking about it. Anyway, that's already past. It happened so long ago that I only have vague memories of it."

Shepard nodded and continued. "Would you kill someone again if somebody ordered you to do it, no matter who that person is?" She asked.

"No." Naruto replied instantly, and before Shepard could continue, Naruto continued. "I wouldn't. It's a personal decision that I've taken long ago. I no longer desire to kill; I don't like the idea of having to take the life of another person just because I can do it. I've lived many experiences and because of them, I understood that in most cases, killing is unnecessary. However..." He paused to turn his head to look at Shepard, realizing that she was listening to him carefully.

Hence, he continued. "That doesn't mean I'll never kill anyone. If I see someone who really doesn't deserve to live, I'll kill him or her without flinching. But no, I wouldn't do it if someone orders me to do it. That would be mine and nobody else's decision." He spoke looking towards the front as he continued talking. "But don't worry, Shepard. We all have free will. I'm nobody to tell someone else what to do or what not to do. So you can do whatever you want on your missions, I won't say anything about it... as long as they are justified killings, if not, I would only share my viewpoint."

Shepard at that could not help thinking at the time when she killed Cathka and what Naruto had told her next. "I ... I'm sorry, you're right." She apologized.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Why are you apologizing?" He asked.

"I remember that after I had killed Cathka, you told me it was unnecessary, and I replied I could do whatever I wanted in a not very nice manner. At that time, I was ... je-jealous, and I wanted to get even with someone, and I did it with him and later with you." She replied a little embarrassed by admitting her 'jealousy.'

Naruto at that looked at her as he began to scratch his right cheek. "Uhm, about that, Shepard..." Naruto said, but before he could continue, Shepard spoke.

"There's no need, I understand." She expressed as she took the exit to go to Zakera.

Naruto shook his head and continued. "No, it's not that. You see, this year I wasn't able to see you, I thought a lot and..." Shepard could feel her heart pumping faster at these words, but Naruto did not stop and continued. "I believe I was very harsh with you at that time. So please, accept my apologies. I didn't mean to talk to you in that way, sorry." Naruto apologized making Shepard feel as if a big rock had fallen upon her.

She just gave a forced smile and replied. "N-No, don't worry about it. I should be the one who should be apologizing because I rushed things."

Naruto tried to say that she did not need to apologize, but he could not because Shepard continued. "But hey, it's not the time to talk about that. Furthermore, we have returned to Zakera, so let's go and eat this 'Ramen stuff' you've talked about." Shepard parked the shuttle and opened its door.

Naruto had nodded to Shepard's words. But after hearing the latter, he could not help looking at her in disbelief. "This 'Ramen stuff' you've talked about?" He asked looking at her; both were still sitting in the shuttle.

"Hmm, I think that's what I said," She replied looking carefully at Naruto, who then shook his head and quickly stood up from his seat to walk to the side of Shepard, who just observed him.

Once Naruto was there, he extended his hand to Shepard with a smile. "So, what are you waiting for, Shepard? It's time to go and eat. We'll have a good time."

Shepard smiled back and grabbed Naruto's hand to get up. After that, Naruto and Shepard walked out of the parking lot, heading to Zakera's market.

Naruto was still raising strange looks from people, and all this was due to his whisker marks, which had also caught the attention of Shepard since the first time she had seen him. But she had never been able to ask him about it. Maybe she could take the opportunity to do it when they reached that place to eat together.

Naruto also noticed this, but with his enhanced senses, he could hear that most of the whispers were about Shepard. Many were looking at her with great respect and admiration while others, in addition to being paying attention to his whisker marks; were talking about the fact that they were walking together and very close to each other.

However, Naruto didn't care because the only thing he cared about was that he was about to eat Ramen after several centuries, and that made Naruto unable to pull the smile away from his face as they walked.

Shepard noticed this and could not help saying as they turned to the right to walk downstairs. "I can see you're excited," She said looking at him.

Naruto turned his head, bowed it and looked at her. "Well, I can't help it. It's one of the few things that I still enjoy until today." He replied.

Shepard smiled but said nothing more. They finally walked downstairs and passed by a place where used ships were sold.

They went out from there and entered Zakera's Commercial District. Naruto and Shepard saw Avina near the wall, right out of that shop.

But they didn't approach her since they both could hear someone saying aloud. _"Irasshaimase (Welcome)!"_

Instantly, Naruto approached the place where the voice came from. There he could see an average sized man with Japanese traits. However, Naruto did not pay much to it and just said in his native language. _"Kon'nichiwa, anata wa rāmen o hanbai shite imasu ka? (Hi, do you sell Ramen?)"_

The man smiled delighted to have a conversation in his native language, so he replied. _"Hai. Soreha watashi no meindisshudesu (Yes, that's my main dish.)"_

 _"Yatta! Saigo ni! (Yeah! At last!)!"_ Naruto exclaimed raising his left fist, with tears going down his cheeks that looked like a waterfall.

The Cook stared at him in shock when he saw him doing that, but before he could ask how he could do it, Shepard approached. "Hello, good evening. Excuse my friend, he's special, and he can do weird stuff." She stated so that the Cook didn't ask questions about it.

Shepard did not understand anything they both had said since she did not always have her automatic translator of her Omni-tool activated. It was only configured to certain types of alien languages.

The Cook at that voice looked over, and there he saw the 'Great Commander Shepard' in all her glory. "Commander Shepard! It's an honor to have you here; please take a seat." The Cook said as he handed each of them a stool.

Naruto quickly grabbed one and sat down on it, with a smile on his face waiting to eat some Ramen.

Shepard did it too, but she did it quietly as she looked at the Cook who quickly brought a menu to each of them.

Naruto immediately began to read everything, but then he sighed and put the menu down on the table which made Shepard raise an eyebrow since Naruto had suddenly lost all enthusiasm.

When she was about to ask him what was happening, she saw him standing up from his seat to leave.

Shepard quickly rose up from her seat and grabbed him by his wrist, preventing him from leaving. "Hey, what's going on? Why did you lose enthusiasm so suddenly?" She asked with a hint of concern because she could see Naruto quite discouraged.

Naruto then turned around and looked at Shepard with one of the weirdest faces that she had ever seen. His eyes had gone quite shiny, round like of a puppy and they shed a lot of tears. "I... I d-don't have money." He replied as he moved his hands to his pockets to get them out, and moths came out of each side.

Shepard almost falls backward at that, but in the end, she could not help laughing as she hit Naruto's shoulder softly. "You fool. I thought you remembered something that brought you bad memories. Come on, let's eat. Don't worry about the money. It won't be a problem." She stated as she grabbed Naruto by his right to tug him back.

"B-But ..." Naruto tried to say as she pulled him. But then he sighed in defeat as Shepard forced him to sit on his stool again. "You know, Shepard. The place where I come from, it's the man the one who usually pays for the meal." Naruto said.

Shepard laughed as she took her metal gloves and helmet off from her armor, placing them on the counter of the stand. Then she answered as she began to read the menu. "Well, now we're not in your world. Now you're under my commands, and I command you to accept my dinner invitation." Shepard said putting the menu down to carry her index finger towards Naruto, slightly touching the tip of his nose.

Naruto looked at her for a few seconds but then asked hesitantly. "Are you sure you want to pay, Shepard?"

Shepard turned to him and gave a nod, so Naruto smiled as he started cracking his knuckles. "Okay, if you insist, I have no choice but to accept. But next time, I'll invite!" Naruto exclaimed with a smile.

Shepard smiled since she understood that this would not be the only time they would go out together, so she looked back at the menu only to hear Naruto and the Cook speaking in Japanese again.

She did not pay much attention to it, so she continued reading carefully. There were many dishes, but she decided to try a specific Ramen as one of its ingredients had caught her attention.

Therefore, she waited for Naruto and the Cook to finish talking so that he can take her order. After they had done it, the Cook approached her and asked. "What would your order be, Commander Shepard?" He asked quite excited.

"Hmmm, I think I'll take a bowl of Miso Ramen. One of its ingredients caught my attention." She replied smiling.

Naruto smiled and turned his head to her. "Well, let me tell you that the Miso Ramen is a delicacy. Even more by the Naruto's, hehe. I didn't think there would be so many similarities between my world and this country called Japan. How lucky I am!" He exclaimed quite happy.

Shepard smiled and added. "It called my attention to see your name on the menu. It was strange somehow." She said looking at him, still smiling. Naruto smiled back and called the Cook to speak in Japanese again.

After that, Shepard saw the cook taking a few steps backward before returning with a small bottle with a cork and two small porcelain cups. _"Hmm, Sake."_ She thought as she saw the Cook placing the bottle and glasses near them.

Naruto quickly uncorked it and poured its liquid in his glass before looking at her. "Would you join me while he finishes preparing our order, Shepard?" He asked as he lifted the bottle slightly.

Shepard grabbed the glass and raised it slightly. Naruto smiled and poured some of the liquid in her glass; then he put the bottle down.

After that, Naruto raised his glass up to his stomach and continued. "I would like to drink a toast, Shepard."

"Okay," She answered, doing the same thing as Naruto, waiting for his toast.

"Well there are many things for which I want to toast, but the main ones are these..." He made a short pause to look at Shepard directly into her eyes that caused a slight blush, but she stared back without problems.

"I want to toast for you, Shepard. For making me leave my planet, for convincing me that there are worthy people who deserve help. For making me realize that there's still hope and above all, for being here with you, a beautiful and gorgeous woman about to share a delicious dinner." He stated before lifting the glass up to his eye.

Shepard did the same, and then they both said 'cheers' before clinking their glasses.

Then they both drank the contents, and they both let out a growl due the burning that the Sake caused them when going down their throats.

"Aaah! It's still as strong as I remember." Naruto exclaimed putting the glass down. "How many years have passed since the last time I drank Sake?" He asked.

Shepard chuckled and then grabbed the bottle to pour the liquid into her glass and Naruto's. "Now I want to toast," Shepard said with a smile while doing the same thing that Naruto did moments before.

Naruto also did it while waiting for Shepard's words, who smiled again and then continued. "* Ahem* Well, I toast to you. Because you decided to help us in this difficult mission, for proving the Council the Reapers' existence, and for staying strong for so many years, without faltering and always thinking about stopping the Reapers."

Naruto smiled at Shepard's words and they both clinked their glasses before drinking, growling at the end.

After that, the Cook approached with a tray in hands filled with two large steaming bowls of Miso Ramen, which made Naruto's stomach growl loudly, and made Shepard and the Cook laugh.

"Here you go." The Cook said as he put a bowl in front of each of them. Then he gave them some packets that contained chopsticks.

Naruto opened it and said as he put his hands in prayer position. "Itadakimasu!" With that said, Naruto drew the chopsticks out and put them on his right hand.

But before he could eat, Naruto looked at Shepard, realizing that she was having troubles with the chopsticks. "Problems?" Naruto asked lowering the chopsticks again.

Shepard looked at him for a moment before retrying to put the chopsticks in her hand, attempting to emulate what Naruto had done when he picked them up, but it was not working.

"N-No, don't worry. I'll find the trick." She answered picking the chopsticks up before trying to exert some force on them, but they came out of her fingers. She growled and tried again, failing once again.

Naruto chuckled; he turned around and carried his hands towards Shepard's hands, gripping them gently. "It's hard at first, but you only have to do this, look."

Shepard did not pay attention to what Naruto was saying because when she felt his hands, she just stared at him, feeling the big, soft and warm hands of Naruto. So warm that it made Shepard release a sigh, which Naruto could hear.

"Is there something wrong, Shepard?" Naruto asked unable to finish his explanation.

Shepard quickly shook her head and answered. "No, nothing. I just got distracted."

Naruto looked at her for a few seconds but then continued. "As I was saying, this chopstick goes into the base of your thumb, and the other one between your index and middle fingers. Then you only have to do this." He said as he put the chopsticks on Shepard's fingers in the correct position. After that, Naruto sat back in his seat to put his chopsticks on his fingers as he showed Shepard how she should use them.

Shepard understood it, so she thanked Naruto and then looked at the bowl of Ramen, gathering a few of the noodles with her chopsticks. At first, they fell, but in the second attempt, she could pick them up and bring them to her mouth to eat, which made them smile.

Shepard when tasting the noodles could not help saying. "Hmm, this tastes good," She stated, carrying more noodles into her mouth.

The Cook and Naruto smiled, and Naruto spoke. "Really? I sensed that. It has an excellent aroma. Anyway, now it's my turn. Itadakimasu!" He exclaimed and quickly grabbed the noodles in his chopsticks.

Then he got them up and took them into his mouth. He savored the noodles' flavor and had the same reaction as Shepard, causing another smile from the Cook, who continued cooking more and more Ramen since Naruto had been clear with the quantity.

"This is yummy!" Naruto exclaimed putting down the bowl after finishing eating, making Shepard look at him with wide eyes since he had finished that big bowl in less than twenty seconds while she had only just begun.

"Wow. That was fast. I think you were hungry." Shepard said looking at him with surprise but with a smile.

Naruto turned his head and smiled as he poured more Sake in his and Shepard's glass, who thanked him. "Indeed, it's been more than three thousand years since my last meal, after all," He replied.

The Cook and the others who had come to eat at this place after seeing Shepard there looked at Naruto like if he were crazy. Shepard nervously laughed, so she looked at Naruto and expressed in a whisper. "Shhhh, speak lower; don't say such things that lightly. Not everyone will understand those things; they'll think you're crazy." She said as low as possible.

Naruto at this turned his head and saw that many people were looking at him almost to the point of laughing. Naruto could recognize some krogans, some turians, and a few humans. Everyone was looking at him with mocking smiles as if he were crazy.

"Ha! Not even my father lived that long. This human is insane." Said a Krogan, who was accompanied by another Krogan.

Naruto just ignored him, but Shepard spoke. "Hey you! ... Silence." She ordered in a threatening tone while pointing to the krogan, who could not help getting up from his place.

"And what will you do if I don't?" The krogan asked with a hoarse voice trying to get closer, but he could not because his companion stopped him. "Stupid, she is 'the' Commander Shepard. She's a Spectre. She will kill you, and no one would bat an eye. Don't start this nonsense." The other krogan pondered in a whisper.

Nonetheless, the other krogan grunted and pulled his arm out. "I'm a former member of the Blood Pack. As if I would be intimidated by something like that." Then the krogan replied and approached Shepard, who also did the same.

But before they could fight, Naruto stood among of them, stretching his hands. "Come on, guys. Stop, this isn't the place to be doing these things. Shepard, let's continue our date." He said the latter to reassure Shepard, which he pretty much accomplished.

So they both set out to sit down, but before they could, the krogan could not help adding. "Ha! The 'Great' Commander Shepard dating a 'little kitten' like him. I'm sure you'd be the laughing stock of the Blood Pack if they hear about this." He stated, ending with a loud laugh.

Shepard had felt angry again, but she said nothing since she saw that Naruto was completely still and with his head bowed. It seemed as if his face had darkened. That made Shepard have a bad feeling.

However, Naruto turned around and looked at the krogan with a rather serious look. "What did you call me? I think I've misheard. Did you say 'little kitten'?" He asked with twitching eyebrows.

"And what if I said it?" The krogan asked, but suddenly, all those who were able to see his face could see that his eyes had lost their brightness as he continued talking. "Excuse. My. Boldness. I. Will. Not. Bother. Anyone. Again." Then he turned around and sat down in his seat to start eating the Ramen that his friend had ordered. He asked him what happened, but the krogan did not answer and continued eating.

Shepard looked at that a little puzzled, but she and Naruto sat down, and he began eating the second bowl that the Cook had put in his place.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Shepard asked.

Naruto turned his head, and Shepard saw that he had noodles halfway in his mouth. The next thing she saw was that Naruto swallowed the noodles, staining his chin slightly, making her smile. "Yes, I have told you already, Shepard. I don't usually stay angry for long." He replied.

Shepard focused on her bowl. "You didn't like being called that." She assumed.

Naruto nodded and replied. "No, I never liked it. But this time, I was forgiving. In the past, I killed many people who have called me in that way. I think I have grown somehow. Though I can't yet stand being called that." He finished with a smile, showing Shepard that he was no longer angry.

Therefore, she smiled back and continued eating, now calmer while both of them continued sharing the Sake and talked about what they had done when they were younger.

But eventually, Shepard could not help saying. "At this rate, I'll end up drunk before our date ends," That made Naruto smile. Meanwhile, Naruto had more than 15 bowls stacked beside him, while Shepard had finished the first one just a few minutes ago before starting with the second one.

However, before he could speak, Shepard continued. "Hey, can you bring some beers?" She asked looking at the Cook.

"In a second, Commander Shepard." The Cook replied as he opened the fridge to take some cans of beer.

"Beer?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow as he watched the Cook handing out a beer to Shepard, who opened it and then began to drink it slowly.

Then she stretched out her hand so that Naruto can grab the beer and drink it. "Try it. It tastes good." She stated.

Naruto grabbed it weakly and gave a slight sip as he began to taste it, but upon swallowing it, he could not help saying. "* Yuck * I'm sorry, Shepard. But I'll continue drinking my 'rice wine', you can drink this." After that, Naruto handed over the can again, causing Shepard to laugh, who was already beginning to feel the effects of alcohol; but it was still very mild.

"Well, to each his own. Sooner or later, you'll end up drinking this." After that, Shepard swallowed a bit more as he continued eating the second bowl of Ramen.

Naruto smiled and did the same, but this one already was his seventeenth bowl, which made many of those present to look at him with wide eyes as they asked themselves where he kept all that food.

The cook was happy because his business was having a lot of movement after a long time. Since the Karaoke machine had been removed from his stand, sales had declined considerably, but now people were returning to eat.

He continued kneading the dough for noodles just to hear Naruto exclaiming. "Hey, Cook. Come here!" He said while waving his hands.

He approached with a smile, and before he could ask what was going on, Naruto continued. "I just wanted to give you my congratulations. This dish is excellent. Even though you've used dried seaweed instead of meat, this is still exquisite. Thus, I would want to know your name." Naruto knew the thing about the dried seaweed because the Cook had said that the meat in the Citadel was not fresh.

"My name is Teuchi... Teuchi Yoshida." He answered

At the name, Naruto felt a lump in the throat, which both Shepard and Teuchi could notice.

Then they both saw that Naruto bowed his head while a small smile of nostalgia crossed his face. "Teuchi, huh?" He asked raising his head again, still with that little smile on his face.

Teuchi nodded, and Naruto shook his head. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Teuchi. I would like to shake hands with you." Naruto said, stretching out his hand.

Teuchi instantly did it, and in doing so, he could feel many things. Among them, a kind of feeling that told him that the person in front of him belonged to a whole different world. He could not explain it very well; it was as if he were in the presence of a divine being. Even though he had never before felt anything like that, he could only describe it in that way.

The other one was that something had entered into his body. It tickled him a little, but it lasted only a few seconds. Then both finished the handshake and Teuchi could not help looking at his hand because the feeling of Naruto's power remained even after.

But he just walked away to continue preparing more food for Naruto, as it seemed that he would not stop eating.

Naruto just smiled as he continued eating more and more with some occasional glances from Shepard, who had stopped eating because she felt full; but she kept drinking occasionally.

After a few minutes of watching him, she continued the conversation on what they did before they met each other. Hence, they had a pleasant talk about the dangerous missions that Naruto did and the challenging missions where Shepard had to take tough decisions to complete them.

They continued talking for another two hours, getting to know each other as much as they could. But eventually, Naruto concluded that the evening should end because he saw Shepard drunk.

To avoid an accident, Naruto said to a more than happy Teuchi because he had consumed more than 70 bowls of Ramen. "I will definitely return, Teuchi," However, he had started eating less because he didn't want to 'abuse Shepard's kindness,' who currently had rosy cheeks due to the alcohol, along with a smile that would not leave her face. Most likely, because she had a very nice date with her 'crush'.

When she saw Naruto standing, she got up from her seat to throw herself on him, as she crossed her arms around his neck. "Were do we *hic* go noow?" She asked with a smile and slight slur.

Naruto smiled back and replied. "Now I'll take you to your cabin, my dear Commander Shepard." After that, Naruto picked Shepard up in bridal style and disappeared in a yellow flash along with her, leaving a shocked Teuchi, who could not believe what he had seen.

The place was already empty because it was very late, so no one else had seen it. But he decided to leave it aside because he was sure he would not understand it. With a sigh, Teuchi began to wash all the utensils that had been used today. But still, he was quite happy. But not everything was not all joy because he suddenly remembered something important. "They left without paying!" Teuchi exclaimed quite nervous because he believed they would not pay him.

But after thinking a second time, he concluded that Shepard would not do something like that, neither would Naruto because he thought they were honest people. Besides, he could see that Shepard had forgotten her helmet and her metal gloves on the counter. So he kept them and continued with what he was doing. Chances were that Naruto or Shepard would return later to pay the bill and recover Shepard's belongings.

Meanwhile, Naruto had returned to the Normandy with Shepard in his arms, curled up and with her eyes closed because she was not yet used to the feeling of traveling in Naruto's Hiraishin.

But when she realized that the feeling of movement stopped, she opened her eyes and saw they were in her cabin.

Naruto walked towards her bed, and upon arrival; he gently put Shepard down on it while he started removing her armor.

Shepard due to her state, could not help saying. "Fufufu, are yew tryin to take advan *hic* tage of meh?" She asked with a cheeky smile as she let Naruto remove her armor.

Naruto chuckled and replied as he took the underside part of her armor off, revealing a black suit. "Maybe..." He replied before continuing with the torso, but not before putting the underside part of her armor off the bed.

Shepard smiled, but she remained silent waiting for Naruto to remove the rest of her armor.

Once he did, Naruto got up from the bed to try to take Shepard's armor to her closet, but before he could get away, he felt a tug on his hand that forced him to turn around and fall on the bed.

The next thing he noticed was that Shepard placed herself on top of him and quickly put both hands on his cheeks to attract his head to hers. However, before she could kiss him, Naruto turned his head to the left, making Shepard give him a kiss on his left cheek.

Shepard laughed sensually at that, and she tried to do it again, but once again Naruto had turned his head to avoid the kiss on the lips.

Shepard tried again, but Naruto was not allowing her to. That brought her a sigh of disappointment, so she went down before lying down beside him, asking. "Do I not attract you at all?" She questioned turning her head, seeing that Naruto was staring at the ceiling of her cabin. Then he turned his head to look at her and smiled with a hint of sadness.

"It's not that, Shepard. It's just that I don't want to hurt you. I've noticed that you really do love me. That's something that makes me really happy, but also makes me feel sorry for not being able to reciprocate those feelings. I have already explained it to you, Shepard. I no longer feel ready to enter into a serious relationship. I don't want to lose everything again." He stated in a whisper that again conveyed to her the sadness and guilt that Naruto held inside of him.

Once again, Shepard felt that lump in her throat and chest, in addition to feeling something that gave her the need of pulling Naruto into her lap so he could release all the pain that he had accumulated in his heart. All that guilt and feelings that he was keeping to himself for so many years; she wanted to be able to heal his heart and restore light to his life.

However, unlike the other occasion, Shepard did not remain silent, completely forgetting about her drunkenness. "Naruto, I wish I could understand you completely. I can only imagine what it's been for you to be alive for so long, away from all those who were once important to you. Unable to ever see or hear them, even love them..." Shepard said while doing a short pause to lift half of her body.

Naruto looked at her very carefully, listening to her continuing. "I know I shouldn't be insisting so much. B-But I can't help it. This pain I feel in my chest every time I see you like that makes me forget how short the time we have known each other is." She continued with her voice a bit broken as she put her right hand on her chest before squeezing her shirt.

"Shepard..." Naruto whispered a little surprised and happy to hear her words as she continued. "That's why I want to help you. I-I want to be a new light in your life. The person who makes you smile, laugh, and love again. Please give me a chance, give me an opportunity to heal your heart." She finished lowering her head to hide some tears that started running down her cheeks.

She could not help it. She no longer wanted Naruto to be depressed, sad, and guilty. Nor did she want him to see her weak, or as a person who let her feelings guide herself. For this reason, she had bent down her head so Naruto couldn't see the tears.

However, she suddenly felt Naruto's warm hand on her cheek. Therefore, she raised her head to look at him, seeing him with a grateful smile on his face. "Thank you, Shepard. I really appreciate your words."

Shepard returned the smile and laughed slightly while carrying her fingers to wipe the tears. "You must be thinking that I'm pathetic. I, 'the' Commander Shepard, war hero, the woman who killed the Rachni and prevented the destruction of the Citadel, crying like a teenager who's madly in love with a Super Star, haha." She laughed at the end, to pull the nervousness she felt away.

Naruto smiled as he began to stroke Shepard's cheek, which caused a blush. "No, Shepard. I'm not thinking that. I'm thinking that you're very brave for revealing your true feelings to me. Don't be ashamed for crying for love, only the brave ones do that." He stated, still touching her.

When Shepard heard that, she could not help looking straight into the deep blue eyes of Naruto. Unavoidably, she slowly began to bring her head to Naruto's face. "Naruto..." She whispered with her head at centimeters from him, while she lifted her lips slightly.

Naruto could not deny that she looked charming in that way. Hence, he could not avoid doing the same; he slowly began to bring his head to hers.

 ** _"Come on, come on, come on. You can do it, Naruto."_** Kurama thought excited and impatient watching Naruto about to do what Red and he were telling him to during the year they were training.

However, after a few moments, he could not help falling backward and sigh with annoyance when he saw Naruto dodging Shepard's kiss, to kiss her on her cheek.

Shepard was disconcerted by this action since she thought that Naruto wanted to kiss her, and before she could ask what happened, Naruto spoke. "It's still too soon, Shepard... Good night." He whispered in her ear

The next thing that happened was that Naruto applied a pressure point to Shepard's neck, knocking her out on him.

He caught her and then he put her gently on her bed, putting her head on the pillow. Then he went to put her armor in her closet. As he walked, Naruto heard a voice exclaiming in his mind. **"What the hell was that, Naruto?"** Kurama asked disappointed.

Naruto did not answer and just put her armor in the closet. **"Damn coward. I can't still believe that even though you're the most powerful being in the universe, you're still afraid of love. You're pathetic, you embarrass me."** He stated shaking his head and letting out a sigh of disappointment.

Naruto ignored him again. This time, he took a blanket out of the closet and put it on his arm to return to Shepard's bed. Once there, he covered Shepard with said blanket.

Then Naruto sat on the floor, leaning up against the bed, slightly lowering his head. _"You don't understand it, Kurama."_ Naruto finally spoke.

 **"I understand that you're a coward,"** Kurama replied, unaware that his words were hitting Naruto hard.

 _"You're right. I'm a coward, a wimp, I'm pathetic, I'm not much of a man. Sorry, pal. Sorry for embarrassing you."_ He stated with a sadness countenance and a broken voice

Only now, Kurama realized that his words had been harsh, especially to someone like Naruto, who had been emotionally unstable from that day when he was revived.

Therefore, he tried to apologize, but Naruto spoke before. " _But I just can't do it. I can't re-start my life, it's impossible."_ He continued with a stronger voice, but it still held a bit of sadness.

Kurama realizing that Naruto had stopped talking took the opportunity to do it. **"First of all, sorry for being so harsh with you. But it was your fault, boy. You were so close, so damn close that I thought you would finally re-start your life. I couldn't help saying those words. You already know how I can be."** He said, but continued before Naruto could say anything.

 **"But why do you think it's impossible? I don't understand."** He asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto stood up at that and turned around to look at Shepard, who was sleeping very quietly on her bed. Naruto smiled slightly and then he left her cabin.

 _"Telling you won't change anything, Kurama. You will know it when the time comes. Now I don't see the need to tell you."_ After thinking that, Naruto cut communication with Kurama, who upon realizing this started to growl and yell to explain to him what he meant.

But Naruto didn't hear anything else since he had completely blocked his connection with Kurama. He did not want to hear him; he did not want to explain his motives, as he did not feel in a good mood to do it.

Thus, he just came out of the cabin and then went to get some rest to the hangar.

* * *

 

**Notes:**

**Finished.**

**I hope you have enjoyed this extra super long chapter? It took me a while. U.U**

**Well, I think there's not much to explain.**

**Ah, I don't speak Japanese xDD. That conversation between the Cook and Naruto was thanks to Google translator XD. I have no idea if it was okay or not.**

**I decided the name of the Cook should be "Teuchi," I plan to integrate him to the crew later.**

**Regarding Naruto's attitude, you should understand. He's been alone too many years, without love and anything, away from all those who once loved him.**

**Oh,** **and I want to ask some things. Hopefully, you'll answer them.**

**Well, here they go.**

**First, do you want me to describe what Naruto's clones are doing on the respective planets of the Councilors? Do you want to see the clones showing them that they can do everything they saw in the vision? I won't describe them all, maybe two at most.**

**The other thing, I'm having problems because I don't know what you are waiting for the story.**

**Mass Effect is an RPG and FPS game (or something like that, xd), but I think the Role is more important.** **But in 'Naruto', it's the action :/**

**When making the Crossover, I think a 'paradox' appeared, and I don't know what to do. So tell me, in what do you think that I should concentrate more?**

**In the action, the role, the romance, the adventure, etc. (you can say other things)**

**Another thing, do you want to see flashbacks of Naruto when he was younger? In the future, there will be some, but they won't be too long.**

**But do you want to see them now? I don't know, to explain some things that maybe you want to know. Let me know.**

**And finally, I will say this for the last time. Even though Naruto is ridiculously overpowered, things won't be easy for him. You'll see what I have in mind then.**

**But hey, if you have questions, I will answer them as soon as possible.**

**Until the next time.**


	7. Chapter 6

Organic being, talking. "Hello"

Organic being, thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

** Chapter 6 **

The next day – Thessia Headquarters - 6 a.m.

After the clone of Naruto had taken Tevos to her home planet, the two of them had spent the rest of the day chatting about what Naruto had shown to the council on the Citadel, as they both waited for the leaders of Thessia to convene so they can start Naruto's test.

Although they had not only talked about that, they had also talked about... 'other issues'. Nevertheless, nothing had happened between them yet, because the clone wanted Tevos to be in the optimal conditions in the morning; he did not want her tired after all.

When the morning had come, Tevos had informed the clone that the leaders of the High Command of Thessia had been gathered, and the test would be performed at one of the headquarters on the planet. Therefore, Tevos and Naruto took a shuttle that would take them there.

Upon reaching the headquarters—which was a large building—both went to the place where the test would take place, but not before Tevos introduced Naruto to the leaders. There were questions about if what Tevos had claimed about his skills were true, but Naruto had replied that they would see it with their own eyes in a few minutes.

After that, the clone followed the asari to the back of the building, where the test would be carried out. The asari went to observe to an upper position while they pointed Naruto where he should go; it was a rather large field, and it seemed to be an asari training camp.

There were several asari Commandos, who did not know why they had been summoned to this place so suddenly. But when they saw Naruto, they quickly surrounded him. Some of the commandos wondered what a human was doing on their home planet, especially at one of their headquarters.

However, they said nothing about it because it was an order from Councilor Tevos, who had already settled in the observation room with her fellow leaders and some matriarchs.

Even though they had heard Naruto's story from Tevos, they were still incredulous that a human being could achieve such feats. Hence, they had unanimously decided to test him with the best Commandos of Thessia before reaching a decision.

So Tevos looked at those who were in the observation room, they nodded, and Tevos approached to the console and touched a button. "Okay, Naruto, we'll see if what you showed us in that vision was real events or just a simulation as Sparatus said." Tevos' voice sounded by the speakers.

After that, she continued. "Your goal is to defeat all those who are down there. If you can, Thessia will be willing to contribute resources to prepare ourselves against the Reapers." She stated.

Instantly, all the asari next to Naruto were incredulous that Tevos had ordered something like that to a mere human. Some of them could not help chuckling as they thought that Naruto would not have any chance while others thought that Tevos wanted Naruto to kill himself when facing them.

However, Naruto just nodded as he began to do some stretching under the watchful gaze of all the asari, who quickly began to check their weapons while others took distance to throw their Biotic attacks more efficiently.

After completing their preparations, they looked at Naruto while waiting for the order to attack. However, they still did not know why they wanted them to kill a human; he looked completely disarmed. Well, all they could see were some shiny swords on his back, but they disregarded them as it wouldn't be enough to harm them. They trusted in their shields and barriers.

Naruto, however, began to look at them; there were, at least, sixty asari. Most of them had looks of laziness because they believed that the leaders had called them unnecessarily while others looked at him with some mockery since they didn't take him seriously.

Nonetheless, this hardly mattered Naruto; he only placed his fingers in the Tiger position. _"I'll try to give Tevos and the others leaders of this planet a show..."_ He thought with a smile while Kurama gave the same expression.

After thinking about it, an asari Commando spoke. "I don't understand what the point of this is. However, it would be best that you desist; I wouldn't like to kill someone as handsome as you, but I will if you don't desist now. You should think this over; you have no chance. You are just you and we're over fifty; you have everything to lose." That asari stated.

Naruto smiled and stopped crossing his fingers. "Heh, I could put the amount in my favor if I wished it. But how about if we do something?" He asked.

"What would that be?" Asked another asari.

Naruto smiled and answered. "Who are Biotics?" Immediately, all of them raised their hands, which made Naruto scratch his cheek. "Uhm, I see. But hey, how about we do this. If anyone of you can move me with your biotics powers, even a millimeter from my place, then I'll desist and retire quietly from here." After that, he lowered his arms as he clenched his fists and separated his legs slightly.

Many asari chuckled again, but one stepped forward and said. "Well, it won't be difficult; we are the best Commandos of this planet. No one here knows why we were called upon, but we'll show them that it was just a waste of time."

Naruto smiled slightly and said. "Go ahead; give me your best shot."

"Before that, I should put your shields down." The Commando replied, however, Naruto responded. "I have no shields. I'm just wearing this to go unnoticed."

The asari stared at him for a moment but then nodded as she heard him sincere. Consequently, all of those who were watching saw the asari surrounding herself with her biotic cloak before throwing a powerful attack at Naruto, who saw it coming and just remained standing, receiving the attack, which completely enveloped him.

However, as Naruto had said, nothing had happened, to the surprise of many since the attack was quite powerful. That attack would have made at least five different targets float against their will, but Naruto had not even moved an inch.

After a few moments, the blue cloak that had enveloped him had disappeared, to the surprise and disbelief of all those present. "I told you, will you take me seriously?" Naruto asked with a half-smile.

The asari growled and launched another biotic attack, but when seeing that it did not work, she continued throwing more and more attacks in an attempt to move Naruto from his place. "It can't be possible! You probably have shields or barriers, and that's why my powers aren't working!" The upset asari exclaimed.

Many of the present asari nodded at this, and Naruto sighed because they didn't take him seriously yet. Therefore, he slowly began to take the armor he was wearing off.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Asked one of the asari when Naruto was wearing his boxers only, a little embarrassed because of it.

Many of the asari could not help examining him in detail due to the well-developed body of Naruto, who was unaware of the glances that they were giving him; he simply replied.

"Well, I took that armor off, so you can see that I'm not lying. Now all I wear is this..." He said pointing to his boxers and then continued. "So I think that now you won't doubt that I don't have any kind of armor or barrier. I'm completely defenseless against any attack that you throw at me." He stated.

Now they saw the point of it, but they still believed it was unnecessary. On a second thought, it wasn't that bad.

However, they shook their heads. It wasn't the time to have such thoughts. The leaders of their planet had gathered them; they could not make themselves look ridiculous.

Therefore, they all returned to their previous positions, willing to give Naruto the ride of his life with some of their biotics powers.

Naruto noticed this, so he also returned to his initial position. However, he left it when he realized that only one asari stepped forward to continue her attempt to move him.

He looked at her and said "Wait, let's make the following..." while doing a stop sign with his hands.

The asari looked at him with a questioningly raised eyebrow but decided to hear what he had in mind. When the clone noticed her silence, he continued. "Well, what if all of you try to move me at the same time?"

This time, everyone looked at each other, but after a while, most of them had burst into laughter, while the first asari who had spoken, said. "Hahaha, I like you, human. You're pretty reckless, but also stupid. If all of us attack you at the same time, then you will instantly die. Your body won't resist it, so stop saying nonsenses. If we're going to do this, then we'll do it one by one. Killing you would be a waste; in addition, we also want to have some fun with you. "

Many nodded to this, and Naruto could not help thinking. _"How boring, I don't know what to do so they take me seriously. I wouldn't like doing something very striking and risking damaging them severely... Look at those bodies!"_ He mentally exclaimed, quite excited to be surrounded by 'the blue beauties.' He did not care that they were mocking him, all he cared about was that so many asari surrounded him. He had been pretty excited since he had come to this planet. However, he managed to keep a hold on his composure.

Kurama added with a smile. **"I can see that you haven't changed at all in these ninety thousand years. However, I suggest you to stop wasting time. Get on their nerves; you're an expert on that matter. Although I hope you haven't lost your touch, you haven't practiced it with anyone for thousands of years after all. "**

 _"Uhm, did you say something, Kurama?"_ Naruto asked with a questioning expression, making Kurama have large vein marked on his forehead. **"DAMN BRAT! I hate when you do that! Aarrgh! You are very lucky that we're in this together, or else I'd have eaten you quite a while ago!"** He exclaimed angrily and was driven even more into his anger when he realized that Naruto had ignored him again, this time because he had already started speaking with the asari, who seemed disgusted and angry about something that Naruto had said.

Kurama only now could realize that Naruto was simply showing him that his skill to get on the nerves of people was still quite polished. Nonetheless, he wanted to know what he had said to these asari. Kurama could not deny that it was funny to see Naruto getting on the nerves of others, provided it wasn't him since he was a beast who angered quite easily and could not see the funny side to these things when it touched him.

Therefore, he returned his attention to Naruto. "What did you say?!" Exclaimed one of the enraged asari.

Naruto mockingly looked at her and replied. "You heard me. Did you think that you were called here because you are the best asari Commandos? Hahaha, stop dreaming. You can't even move me from my place, and you think you're good!" He said as he laughed and pointed to the asari who had tried to move him and then to the others who had hesitated to do so, making them growl with anger.

However, he continued. "The truth is that you were called to entertain a human who had nothing better to do than waste his time with a bunch of useless women. If you brats want to know what a good asari with excellent biotic powers is, then talk to Aria T'Loak ... _Speaking of Aria, I should visit her after convincing the leaders from Thessia about the Reapers."_ He thought the latter with a smile.

Finally, Naruto stated with a very serious face as he shook his head and sighed. "'By the goddess,' I'm surrounded by incompetent people..."

When he finished saying that, he heard a mighty battle shout. He turned his head to where the shout came from, just to see an asari throwing a powerful biotic attack at him while the others followed her.

In an instant, Naruto was attacked by more than 40 biotics attacks of all kinds, while the others who did not throw anything yet, also followed their companions to end up with 'the arrogant bastard.'

However, to the surprise, astonishment, disbelief, and terror—among other feelings—of the Asari; the clone had not been moved even an inch by their attacks.

Tevos smiled, but she could not deny that she was surprised that the attacks of the best Commandos had not made him even the slightest effect while the other leaders were whispering among themselves, incredulous by such demonstration.

In the field, some of the asari stepped back involuntarily as they watched Naruto with some fear. He then stepped forward and asked with a serious look. "Will you take me seriously now?"

"N-No. I-It ca-can't be. I-Impossible." One of the asari said after had Naruto spoken.

Naruto then noticed that several of them were starting to fear, which was part of his plan. Thus, he hastened to say the following in an attempt to make them more nervous. "Hehehe..." He took a step forward, realizing that everyone raised their weapons in reflex.

Hence, he stood still again, without moving even a single muscle, seeing that an asari fearfully approached at him while pointing a shotgun at him. "W-What the hell are you? No living being could have withstood that amount of attacks without dying." She stated shakily.

Naruto looked at her before smiling darkly. "Do you honestly want to know it? I would have to kill you when you find out." He finished twisting his smile.

The asari quickly returned with her companions, terrified by the smile that Naruto was giving. Then he said. "Councilor, it's time to start. I've 'motivated' them enough." After that, Naruto snapped his fingers, and his clothes changed to new ones, surprising those present substantially.

Now he wore black ANBU pants and sandals; a black shirt with its respective ANBU white vest on the top; black fingerless gloves; a coat of red color with black flames with his ever present 'commas'. Within his sheath that he had tied around his waist, he had a Japanese Katana of 65 centimeters.

However, before they could say anything because of this, everybody heard Tevos speaking. "The test will start at my order. You must kill the person in front of you by any means. I repeat: You must kill the person in front of you." With that said, Tevos stepped back.

She was already convinced, but she needed something more so that the other members of the high command of Thessia could believe in a hundred percent on the Reaper threat.

For that reason, she looked back at the screen that showed the place where the asari and Naruto were, and Naruto noticed that some of them had regained control; although some of them still retained a bit of doubt after their biotics attacks had failed.

One of them said as she stepped forward, pulling away the fear that she previously had. "Hmmm, I see. Surely, you were part of some kind of human experiment to have an advantage against the Biotics. I see; that was the reason they brought you here. The Councilor found out about it and now she wants us to kill the only one of your kind. We won't let them retrieve you. A human immune to Biotics is a serious problem. You humans have been quite problematic since your discovery of the Mass Relays. You've been colonizing every habitable planet in your path, which led you to war with the turians, and then with the Batarians. But we won't let that happen, we'll avoid it by killing you." She stated

Many felt recovering the spirit at these words, so they nodded as they prepared themselves to kill Naruto, who chuckled and continued. "Hehehe. Undoubtedly, you are very perceptive. You guessed on everything. However, do you wanna know how I was able to get this immunity?" He asked

No one said a word; they only began to aim at him, ready to attack when they heard Tevos' order. However, they were looking at him as if they wanted to know the reason for his immunity.

Naruto smiled when seeing those expressions and decided to answer. "Well, it's very simple..." He made a small pause before continuing. "I ate twenty or more asari until my body got immunized on its own." When he finished saying that, Naruto smiled, showing to everyone his elongated fangs as he licked them and sucked his fingers.

The mental image of asaris being devoured by Naruto certainly terrified several of those present, while others felt nauseous. However, everything that Naruto had said was false, as he wanted to frighten them again because they had recovered a little bit of their courage after the asari had uttered those words.

In the place where Thessia's authorities were, many felt horrified by such a statement, and Tevos could hear the following. "Councilor! Is it true what the human has just said? If it is, any kind of alliance with the humans will come to a halt."

Tevos looked at her and shook her head. "No, he's only up to something. But I can't tell what. Naruto is a very enigmatic person, but I assure you that nothing he said before is true. I had the pleasure of speaking with him before this began. He is a very wise and intelligent person; he would never do something like that. He must have a reason to say that, but I don't know. We'll have to wait until he tells us what he has in mind." She answered, and the asari nodded now calmer.

Tevos then returned to the console and pressed the button to start the combat.

Nevertheless, before that could happen, Naruto added. "And do you want to know what I'm gonna do? I'll play with you at the moment that Tevos gives the order to start. After that, I'll take you with me to eat you later..." He stated as he twisted his smile again.

Some of them took a few steps back, getting away from the 'psychopath' in front of them. And Naruto could feel that Tevos was about to give the order. Hence, he took a step back to say. "But before that, I'll teach you something..." After that, he stood in a Taijutsu stance and continued. "First Shinobi Tactical Knowledge: Taijutsu!" Just as he finished saying that, everyone heard Tevos' voice giving the order to start the test. Therefore, everyone moved their fingers to press the triggers of their weapons. However, before they could, they saw Naruto running towards them at an impressive speed and start to strike to each of them.

They received no harm from Naruto's blows since he had only put the necessary strength to put their shields down.

The asaris did not even have the time to press their triggers since Naruto had been so fast that he left them without any kind of reaction. They could only realize that Naruto had neutralized their shields and barriers; they only had their armors as protection while their shields recharged.

Naruto, one the other hand, had no desire to let that happen. Therefore, he stopped and once again was visible to the dazed asaris, who heard the following. "Second Shinobi Tactical Knowledge: Kenjutsu!"

Then all of them saw him pulling his Katana out and running straight at them again. "Shoot him!" Someone shouted, aiming to where Naruto was while raising her shotgun to shoot him. Nevertheless, when trying to do so, she saw that half of her shotgun had fallen.

"What the hell?!" She yelled. She looked around and realized that her partners experienced the same too. Some of them, afraid, approached one another while making barriers between them, in an attempt to keep Naruto away.

However, Naruto reappeared, but inside of one of those barriers, which frightened the asari who were inside. They tried to shoot him with their handguns—which he didn't cut—but Naruto was faster and gave each of them a kick that knocked them out of their barriers.

The others upon seeing Naruto again drew their handguns and began firing at that place, but before the bullets hit him, Naruto had jumped in the air while performing some hand seals.

"Third Shinobi Tactical Knowledge: Ninjutsu!" All looked up, just to see Naruto puffing his chest and pronouncing the words, _"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_ All of them then watched in horror as a giant fireball—which easily covered the entire area where they were—quickly approaching to their place.

Many prepared themselves for the worst; some of them had dropped their weapons in a signal of defeat while others just wondered how a living being could do all these things, also waiting for their end. However, the technique was not powerful; it barely had any Chakra.

The attack was simply to put the rest of the protection that the asaris had down, and they only realized of this when the technique hit them and noticed that just their armors had been weakened.

It didn't even cause an explosion or lifted smoke; all traces of the technique were gone as quickly as it had been thrown.

Many touched their bodies, incredulous that they had survived to something like that while others could not help sighing in relief as they dried their foreheads because they had sweated a lot due to the fear of being roasted by the fireball.

In the place where Thessia's leaders were, several were amazed, and one could not help saying. "Extraordinary. It seems that everything you said were true statements, Councilor."

Tevos turned her head, smiled and turned it again to look at the screen to see the outcome of the test. She felt that something big was about to happen, so she did not want to miss it.

At the test site, Naruto had reappeared, this time, saying. "It's still not the time to feel relieved; this is not over yet," He stated with a serious expression.

Everyone quickly pointed with their handguns at him, but some of them could not help shivering by being at his presence; just now they could realize that he wasn't an ordinary person.

Therefore, one of them said. "W-What are you? Y-you c-can't be a human; y-you can't be a living being." She stated as her hands trembled a little bit. However, they trembled, even more, when Naruto looked at her.

"You're right, I'm not a human. I'm a Shinobi; the last one of my kind..." After that, they saw him closing his eyes and putting his hands in another strange position. "Now, to finish this, I will teach you one last thing..."

Everyone was prepared to see another of his crazy techniques or just see him disappearing. Then again, Naruto had something else in mind. "Fourth Shinobi Tactical Knowledge: Genjutsu..."

After hearing those words, all of them felt a powerful pulse coming from them, as well as the leaders who were observing the test.

Tevos had felt this before, and she thought that he would show them one of the visions of his world when the Reapers attacked it. Nevertheless, Tevos realized that she was wrong when seeing that she was somewhere on Thessia, specifically at one of its big cities.

She noticed that she was in a pretty busy place; many asaris were walking the streets while others talked among themselves. A little further ahead she could see the other asari who had been watching the test, and those who had been inside said test, everyone quite confused since they did not know how they got to this place so suddenly.

She noticed that now she could move freely, unlike the last time that she had control over her head only. Therefore, she tried to approach the others, but she saw the need to look up when she heard noisy horns coming from the skies.

Surprisingly, she saw dozens of Reapers descending from there and firing their powerful beams at Thessia's buildings, destroying them and bringing them down towards the pedestrians on the streets.

She ran as far as she could to take cover, as well as the others asari who had come with her since all this looked absurdly real.

"Councilor! What's going on? What are those things?" She heard someone asking her. She turned around and saw one of the matriarchs that were in the observation room.

"This... This is n-not real. Naruto is just proving something." She nervously replied; everything looked so real that she was beginning to doubt that it was an illusion.

The desperate screams, the noise of the guns, the shattering of the buildings, the gunships trying to do something against those huge ships; everything seemed too real.

Further ahead, the asari in the test were there. They didn't know what was happening either and denying that they were terrified would be an understatement. Seeing their planet being attacked in this way caused a lot of desperation in them, as they could only contemplate the destruction by these powerful machines.

Fortunately, the rubbles of the buildings didn't reach them. Even so, they moved to an even safer place while helping the civilians to take cover, or at least, they tried to do so until the asari noticed that they began to receive enemy fire.

They looked to where the shots were coming from and saw some of the most bizarre and horrible creatures that they had ever seen. Some of them were collectors, others were husks and some of them were asari-like, but they could tell that they weren't of their kind. They were very different, almost as if they were some sort of machine.

The first thing they did was thrown their biotics powers in an attempt to stop them, but it didn't work. They guessed that they had barriers or shields. Thus, they threw more biotic attacks to put their shields down and fired their handguns because Naruto's Katana had cut the other ones.

They did as much they could, but their weapons were too weak, and the enemy shields were too high. So soon, they ran out of ammo and were exhausted due to the overload of their attacks, which led them to be cornered by the enemy.

Tevos and the other leaders also tried to help, but they were cornered much earlier since they didn't have any kind of weapon. So they had tried, without any effect, to attack the enemy with their biotics powers, until they had been surrounded by them, like the rest of the asari Commandos.

They took their hands behind their heads in surrender signal, but the Reapers ground troops grabbed them before going towards long spikes, completely ignoring what they did.

However, the asari soon knew it when they saw other Reapers troops impaling asaris in said spikes, turning them into one of them in a few seconds.

Most of them panicked, some of them tried to escape, and others threw their biotic powers once again. But everything was completely useless, the Reapers troops didn't even flinch.

So they could only watch helplessly as their comrades were impaled and then converted into those machines. And when Tevos was about to get her turn, she gave a desperate scream. "Naruto, it's enough!"

She instantaneously felt that the whole place began to vanish until after a moment she fell to her knees, putting both hands on the lawn of the meadow where the Commandos were having the test.

She did not care how she had gotten to this place; the only thing she cared about was that that 'vision' was finally over. Subsequently, she gave a sigh in relief as she slowly got up.

She felt someone touching her shoulder. She turned her head and saw Naruto, who offered his hand to help her up. "Councilor, I'm sorry for going this far. But I needed them to see. I needed them to understand."

Tevos nodded and told him not to worry, but then she looked at the others and saw that they were still lying on the ground. "Are they dead?" She asked with some concern.

Smiling, Naruto answered. "There's nothing to worry about, Councilor. They're still within that illusion; that's why they didn't get up yet."

Tevos turned her head to the right and asked again. "So, wasn't it a premonition? Was it just an illusion and nothing more?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, it was just that. However, it was a scenario of what could happen when the Reapers arrive. It was a test to see their reactions, and frankly, I'm disappointed..." He stated.

Tevos was about to ask the reason for his disappointment, but Naruto spoke before. "But I'll tell you why when they wake up, so I'll do it now." After that, Tevos saw him crossing his fingers.

 _"Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."_ Tevos heard and instantly several Naruto's appeared, in equal amounts to the asaris who were on the ground.

Tevos' eyes almost popped out due to the impression when seeing so many of them. She already knew that Naruto could do something like that, but she never imagined that he could do it in that amount.

The clones after being created slowly approached to awaken the asaris from the Genjutsu. Although no one had Chakra networks, Naruto had learned to subdue individuals within his Genjutsus by altering their nervous systems, to the point where they saw what he wanted them to see.

The clones then normalized their nervous systems and took a few steps back after doing it, seeing that many asari gave sudden gasps while others started to cough loudly.

The clones did not disappear since Naruto had also created them for another reason, which the main clone would shortly explain; just when all of them were reassured. It took a bit since some were quite shocked after being in Naruto's Genjutsu.

Although it helped little to their recovery when they saw that they were surrounded by the clones of Naruto, who just a few minutes ago had threatened to eat them.

Once everyone recovered consciousness, the main clone stepped forward. "This way, please. Don't pay attention to my clones." He attracted the attention of all those present.

The asari looked at him with fear, but Naruto continued. "First of all, I must apologize for my attitude towards you a few minutes ago. Just so you know; nothing I said was true. I've never eaten an asari. Moreover, it was only a few days ago that I met your kind. "

One of the matriarchs, who still seemed a bit shocked, stepped forward to speak. "So what was the reason to say something like that? Why did you scare the Commandos in such way?"

This time, Naruto started walking through the crowd, very slowly. "I wanted to see if it would affect you what a poor madman could say. If a few nonsenses and twisted smiles are enough to scare you, then I'm afraid to say that many of you will die just when the war starts."

The Commandos did not understand which war he meant, but they were now calmer because he did not want to eat them. Even so, they felt quite intimidated by being surrounded by so many clones of the person who made them look ridiculous.

"Which war?" One of the Commandos found the courage to ask; many turned to her, but then turned to Naruto again.

Naruto, with a serious expression, placed his eyes on her. "You already saw it, 'that' war," Naruto replied.

Now they understood it, but one of them could not help asking. "What was that we saw? It seemed very real. Was it something that will happen?"

Naruto looked back at Tevos, who nodded and answered her question. "As everyone has already noticed it, Naruto is a very special person. He can do things that not even I could imagine, and that which you saw was one of his special abilities, as he had told me before. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be worried about what we saw. That was a scenario of what could happen in a few years when the Reapers arrive."

Many brought their fingers on their chins, and another asari asked. "The Reapers are real? I thought the Citadel Council concluded that the attack on the Citadel was by Saren and his Geth, not the Reapers. They informed us that all evidence indicated that the Geths made the attack. "

Tevos lowered her head for a moment, a little embarrassed because of it. However, she rose it again and answered. "Well... We were wrong. And that mistake has cost us two years of preparation. Now we must prepare ourselves for the imminent invasion; there's no time to lose." And with that said, she crossed her hands behind her back as she stood firmly.

Naruto nodded to it and continued. "Thank you, Councilor. And thank you for touching that issue. Tell me, what did you feel when you realized that your biotics powers and weapons didn't work against me?" He asked

One of them replied. "In my opinion, I was quite terrified. I've never seen anyone doing all that you've done; I thought that I would die. So I just waited for you to do it. An enemy who is not affected by biotics and who is so fast that not even the bullets can hit it. That's something that would definitely cause despair to anyone. "

Many nodded to it, and Naruto as well. But even so, he decided to continue. "Please, come here," He said pointing to the place right before him.

The asari shyly did it, but after a few seconds, she was standing before him. "What do you want me to do now?" She asked.

"Try to hit me," Naruto replied standing firmly.

"It won't wor..."

"Just do it." Naruto interrupted.

The asari sighed and then clenched her right fist to throw a punch at Naruto, who blocked it with ease.

It did not surprise anyone, but it caused curiosity when they saw him shaking his head a few times. "No, not like that. Try to hit with enthusiasm. As if you really wanted to." He said releasing her fist

The asari nodded and then stepped forward to try it again, but this time with several slow and weak punches that made Naruto shake his head again. He told her to return to her place.

"Okay, all of you. Get close to one of my clones and try to hit them." He ordered in a serious voice.

The asari nodded because now they saw Naruto as a kind of superior officer. Hence, they all approached to a clone, including the leaders since Naruto had also asked them to do it—which included Councilor Tevos—.

After a few seconds, Naruto told them to hit his clones. As he expected, no one did it, but only a few of them had displayed a decent 'Taijutsu.' Still, it was still weak and practically useless. It was as if they almost had no knowledge of close combat.

Therefore, Naruto ordered everyone to stop and come together, uttering a few words. "As I feared. I hope you don't get angry with this comment, but I must tell you this..." He paused and then stated. "You are weak."

That bothered some of the Commandos, but no one dared to claim him about it, only one dared to speak. "That's easy for you to say it. You're not normal, and we're mere mortals. You're like a god of war; it's obvious that we'll be weak to your eyes." She said, getting nods from almost everyone.

Naruto instantly changed his expression to one of annoyance. He clenched his fist and lifted it, which scared the asari as she thought he would attack her.

Much to her relief, Naruto merely lowered his fist in denial signal and continued. "No! That has absolutely nothing to do. You're weak compared to the other species in your galaxy. You have almost no physical strength. You exclusively depend on your biotics powers. And you saw what happens when your powers don't work. What would do if a Reaper squad with heavy armor surround you, and you no longer have any ammo? Would you allow them to kill you or turn you into one of them just like that? Would you give up without even trying?!" He exclaimed, which taken aback the asaris due to the power of his voice.

He was not angry; he just wanted to prove that they were wrong. Then he continued, seeing that they had begun to reconsider his words.

So he breathed deeply and continued after releasing the air from his lungs. "Obviously, your answer will be a no. You will use any means to survive. After all, that's what we organics do, survive at all costs." He stated taking his hands behind his back.

Many nodded, and Naruto continued. "So what do you do? You struggle to survive. But how?" He paused, and when he saw that someone would answer, he made a stop sign.

The asari remained still, listening Naruto continuing. "With these." Naruto continued, squeezing his arms tightly.

"There's nothing more reliable than your own arms and legs. They will save you from most situations that you could imagine. And if you don't believe me, ask a Krogan. Why do you think they were released in the war against the Rachni? Because they were the damn heavyweights of your galaxy. A weapon can fail or run out of ammo, but an accurate punch in the head of your enemies can cause more damage than you could imagine." He stated

"But we're not Krogan. We don't have the physical strength that they have." One of the leaders countered.

Naruto shook his head and replied. "Physical strength is not essential. Yes, it's important. But it's not paramount. The important thing is to know how, where and when to attack. If you master these three principles, then physical strength will be the last of your worries."

Many nodded again, and Naruto continued. "Obviously, I'm not saying that you should always attack your enemies in this way. Of course not, there will be enemies that a punch won't hurt them. This is just so you're ready, the ammo is not unlimited, and there will be times when you will need to put your enemies down with your own hands. "

He paused again and then continued. "But doing so won't be easy, as you will be exposed to enemy fire when charging towards them. That's why you must use tactics to approach them and finish them while you're 'invisible'."

A few people thought he meant to the Tactical Cloak that the Infiltrators used, but before they could confirm this, they saw Naruto carrying his hand in his ninja bag and pulling two small balls of purple color out from there.

After that, they saw astonished when he created a shotgun out of nowhere. He had just raised his left hand and a blue flame—that made the weapon appear—surrounded it. But nobody said anything about it because they saw him throwing the shotgun to one of the asaris, who quickly caught it.

"Try to hit me with that," Naruto said after he saw her receiving it.

The asari had her doubts. "But you're too fast. It won't work." She answered.

" I won't move like that this time. I will move at normal speed for you; try to hit me on my signal." He replied and saw the asari nodding as he commanded the other asaris to step aside.

Therefore, after a few seconds, he gave her permission to shoot.

The asari tried, but in an instant, Naruto had thrown those balls to the ground, and these had exploded when doing contact, completely covering the area of a purple smoke, completely blocking her vision.

She fired a few times to the smoke, but she was not sure if she had hit Naruto. Although she got her answer after a few seconds, when she saw Naruto coming out from the smoke, right in front of her. She tried to shoot him once again, but Naruto had hit the gun slightly over the top, lowering it inches and diverting the shot that was directed to him.

After that, Naruto kicked the right wrist of the asari with the base of his sandal, making her drop the weapon. Finally, he punched her in her stomach, which made her fall to the ground.

"This is how you should," Naruto said after finishing his demonstration.

The asari slowly rose up; it didn't hurt her since Naruto didn't hit her hard as he had no intention of doing so. However, she was grateful because she learned some things from participating in the explanation, as to grab her weapon for the next firmly if she did not want that something like this happened again and then end up with a hole in her head.

Naruto then returned with Tevos and said to finish. "That would be all. I created these clones so that they teach you the basics of combat and supply you with a few smoke bombs so that you can practice among yourselves. Just so you know; I won't give you advanced training. You must learn that on your own. My clones will help you, but to some extent. Then you must help each other to overcome your weaknesses. So, we'll do this the next time again, and hopefully, you won't disappoint me." He said, but with a half-smile.

However, the Commandos had taken it very seriously. "We won't, sir!" All exclaimed in unison while saluting Naruto, who also did the same.

After that, they lowered their hands and Naruto continued. "That would be all. Now, go and train as much as you can. And you..." He said pointing to his clones. "Don't do other 'stuff.' Remember why you were created." He said with a serious look.

"Meh, you are a killjoy. You just think that you're important because 'he' created you, but you're just another lackey of the real boss. You have no moral right to order us anything." Replied one of the clones, which made all the other clones nod.

However, the main clone replied. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you; it's not under discussion!"

The clones looked at him but then sighed in defeat. "Killjoy..." They said it in unison. Then they called each asari and asked where they could go to practice.

They did it and went with their respective clones to where they should go, excited because they could learn a little more about the enigmatic person that Naruto was.

The main clone then looked at Tevos and continued. "Very well, Councilor. My work here is done. If you'll excuse me, I must retreat to another place. By the way, remember that this is a secret; I'm sure that Tevos had already told you. But it never hurts to say it again." After that, he took a swing and was about to go to Omega when he heard Tevos' voice saying.

"Wait... Will you not even stay to discuss the points of the future alliance?" She asked seeing that some of the leaders had come to them, nodding to the words of Tevos.

However, Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, Councilor. But that's not my job. If you want to discuss those issues, contact with Commander Shepard. I had a sole purpose in this place, and I've performed it." He answered

Tevos just sighed, but then asked one last thing. "And where are you going?"

Naruto smiled slightly and replied. "To Omega, to visit a new friend."

Tevos thought for a moment until she recalled the words of Naruto when he was provoking the Commandos. "To Aria? What will you do?" She asked interestedly.

The clone smiled widely and answered. "Break the only one rule on Omega, hehe."

Tevos thought for a few moments until she remembered which the only one rule on Omega was, which made her open her eyes widely. "Don't tell me that you and she."

The clone smiled and answered. "You can come and check it with your own eyes if you want to..." He said it jokingly, believing that the Councilor would not accept something like that, but he realized he was wrong when he heard.

"Well, I wouldn't mind," She replied carrying her hands on her hips, smiling as well.

Smiling, the clone stretched out his hand to her. "Well then, come on. The boss may be angry when I disappear, but who the hell cares. Let's go." After that, the leaders saw Tevos taking the hand of the clone and disappearing in a swirl distortion along with him, surprising them again.

"What the hell was that?" One of them asked surprised. They looked at each other, obtaining no response. After that, they looked at the clones that had been waiting for them. "Well, I guess you won't tell us anything, but I also guess that you want us to learn the same as others. But I warn you that we are somewhat rusty. Since we became leaders, we stopped getting involved in these things. Well, except for the matriarchs, they will surely give you some problems."

The clones smiled but said nothing. They just nodded and approached them to go to their homes. Then the area remained empty, and the asaris who had been there started doing what the original clone had recommended. Meanwhile, the clone and Tevos had reached Omega, the place where a more than happy Aria T'Loak by the wonderful visit was.

9 a.m., on Sur'Kesh

The test on this planet had been easier compared to Thessia's. After the Dalatrasses and several members of the Special Tasks Group had gathered together, the test had started.

Naruto just had to destroy some Mechs, and a few hectares of forest to make them grow again—that's what they unanimously asked—. It seemed that the fact that he could make the trees grow had caught the attention of those present after Valern had informed them about the events on the Citadel.

Naruto sensed that they did that because they wanted to analyze the samples of the trees that he created, but he did not want to find it out since that would not be a problem. However, the problem came when some members of the STG said they wanted to make some 'tests' to determine where his 'enigmatic' powers came from.

The clone allowed them to do it, as long as they didn't inject things into him. They did it quickly but were disappointed when they did not get any results that could answer their questions. It was normal, Naruto had accepted, but he never said he would share those secrets.

Once they finished with that, Naruto shared with them small fragments of the Reaper invasion to his world. The reactions were visible, and the salarians were more than willing to cooperate.

After that, the clone said he was retiring and that the Commander Shepard would come to discuss the terms of a possible galactic alliance, which the Dalatrasses had nodded, waiting for the arrival of the Commander after she finished her mission to destroy the Collectors.

And as expected, this whole meeting was kept as secret. The clone didn't even have to mention it as the salarians were like this by culture. Also, he didn't feel any indoctrinated presence, as the clone on Thessia.

Therefore, he dissipated himself after saying goodbye to all those present, who were not very surprised by anything that Naruto did; they were just intrigued and eager to investigate the origin of his powers.

13 p.m. on Palaven

Things on Palaven went better than Naruto had thought. He believed he would be unwelcomed due to the war that the Turians had had against the humans several years ago, but he realized that it was the opposite.

They saw the human sacrifice to save the Citadel Council as something valorous and a reason to respect them. Shepard was also known as a splendid soldier, and the fact that she had killed Saren—who was one of the biggest disgraces among them for breaking his Turian honor—made the humans very well seen among the Turian Military Force and turians in general.

But even if he had been very well received, there was still skepticism among the turians since they didn't believe that he could do everything that Sparatus had commented on the memory that he saw on the Citadel.

The test was in the presence of the Primarch Fedorian, who wanted this to be done ASAP. Not because he was anxious, but because he was busy and had a lot to do. Still, he had some interest.

There were also some members of the Turian Hierarchy, and surprisingly, Garrus' father.

A few hours before the test began, Garrus had talked to his father to explain him the situation. After all, his father was a good friend of the Primarch Fedorian, and he thought it would help Naruto to have some "allies" when starting the test.

His father had carefully heard everything that Garrus had said. After that, he contacted with the Primarch and told him about the situation. He obtained a response that they would go to the place where they were now. Therefore, Garrus' father had prepared himself and then went to the agreed time to the test location, to start talking with the Primarch and Sparatus.

He had not spoken with Naruto yet, as he first wanted to see if everything his son had said was true, but the connections were more than evident; he just wanted to confirm them.

When the test started, Sparatus ordered Naruto to do some of these elemental attacks he saw in the vision.

Naruto did it without hesitation and after a few moments, he had already attracted the attention of those present. After that, he fought against some turians and defeated them smoothly.

This clone realized that the turians didn't have biotics attacks, but they were splendid with their weapons, and above all, they were excellent strategists.

They had come up with many strategies after they realized that Naruto was too fast as to be hurt by their weapons. Even though it didn't help much, the clone was more than satisfied as they didn't remain still and kept the calmness at every moment. The only downside was that they relied greatly on technology.

He would make a remark on that point to the Primarch, but it would be a bit harder to train them due to the anatomy of the turians, but Naruto liked challenges. Although it would be on another occasion since a few turians were gathered.

After a while, Sparatus approached to the clone and said. "Hmm, I was obviously wrong, and everything you said was true. However, to finish this, what if you show us one last thing? I still have some doubts."

Naruto looked at him with a raised eyebrow and asked. "And what would that be?"

Sparatus replied. "I'd like to see you using one of those black balls that attract things to the skies. I saw that you ended up with dozens of Reapers with these attacks in the vision. If you can do that, I think everyone will be more than convinced."

Hearing this, Naruto scratched his head. "Hmm, I don't know. That attack is dangerous. I could do it, but I warn you that the attack will use the soil and rocks from around. The hole that will remain would depend on the size that you guys decide the attack to have."

The only one who knew what he was talking about was Sparatus, so they did not interfere.

Sparatus brought his hands behind his back and answered. "We are fairly away from the suburbs. There won't be problems, if you can do it, then I will trust you. Besides, something like that would be very helpful in the war against the Reapers." He stated

"Okay, but I want everyone to stay 30 meters away from me," He answered

"Why?" A turian asked; he didn't even have the slightest idea what Naruto wanted to do.

Naruto turned his head, and everyone could see that his eyes had turned to purple color, as they watched him clasping his hands. "Just precautions." After that, he looked straight ahead, ignoring the surprised stares by his sudden change of eyes. Regardless, the turians took the distance that Naruto had asked.

After that, Naruto sighed and uttered the words. _"Chibaku Tensei."_ Upon saying these words, Naruto opened his hands slightly, and a small black sphere appeared which went floating very rapidly skyward.

Everyone could see the small ball, but they did not know what it was. However, they quietly waited since the Councilor had said that it could be a trump card against the Reapers.

But all of a sudden, the place shined brightly, and they felt that the earth began to shake. Seconds later, the earth itself began to crack while large pieces of rocks slowly floated towards the small black ball in the sky.

It did not grow much since Naruto was doing it just for demonstration purposes. Besides, he had no desire to use something as flashy as that. He was just doing it because the Councilor had asked him to do it as lasting proof to believe in his words.

Afterward, Naruto undid the Chibaku Tensei and returned the fragments of land to their respective locations. Upon finishing, the turians came to him, including the Primarch, Sparatus and Garrus' father, who asked him what he did.

Naruto did not provide many details; he just told them it was a skill and a tool to destroy the Reapers. In the end, the turians were convinced and said goodbye to the clone, who had told them that Shepard would pass by here someday to talk to them or would meet with Sparatus at the Citadel.

However, before he could leave, Garrus' father told him to send his greetings to his son.

The clone had nodded and then they all saw him disappearing in a puff of smoke. Therefore, the few ones who had gathered returned to their posts, while the Councilor, the father of Garrus and the Primarch continued discussing what Naruto had done and the possible alliance that could take place once Shepard reached Palaven or spoke to the Councilor at the Citadel.

On the Normandy's Cockpit

It was just 8 in the morning in the place where the Normandy was—which was the Serpent Nebula—. All the crew had returned to their posts after waking up very early.

In the cockpit, Naruto was talking about some issues with EDI, under the watchful gaze of Joker.

After a few minutes of talking, Naruto said to finish. "And that's what I have in mind, EDI. Do you think the modifications would be possible?" He asked.

EDI started making noises, analyzing Naruto's suggestions. It took her about one minute to Joker's surprise, as she did hundreds of thousands of checks just to be sure, and also because Naruto's ideas were almost impossible to achieve by conventional means. Consequently, she had to analyze the probabilities before reaching a verdict.

But when her analysis finished, she answered. **"My analysis indicates that there will not be any problems, Naruto-san. Analyzing what the Commander and the crewmembers have seen you doing thus far, I see no impediments to implementing** **your ideas."**

Naruto smiled and said. "Well, that's great! Now, so that I can do this, I'll need you to tell the Illusive Man that I'll need the blueprints of the Normandy. Tell him that I want them within an hour. Oh, and by the way, EDI. Could you get me an Omni-tool? I'll tell Shepard to teach me how to use it. "

 **"As you wish, Naruto-san. I will get the Omni-tool that suits you best."** EDI's figure answered.

In addition to what she had said, EDI knew that Naruto had put the Illusive Man under control, but she did not care. She would simply transmit his words, and it would depend on the Illusive Man whether he accepted it or not, but EDI's calculations indicated that there were a 90% of chances that the Illusive Man would do what Naruto ordered.

Joker returned to his controls and wearily asked, with his right elbow on the armrest of his seat and his fist on his right cheek. "I've hardly understood anything of what you have spoken. But why are we still here? I thought the Commander would want to go elsewhere after her date. That's why I've undocked from the Citadel, but no, she hasn't said anything at all. *sigh*."

Naruto at this raised an eyebrow at Joker. "How do you know that?"

Joker smiled and turned his chair to him. "Well, everyone on the ship knows it. Garrus told us about it after buying his new armor. Besides, that girl Kasumi was spying on you during your date and uploaded the video of the date in the Omni-tools of everyone." After that, he turned his Omni-tool on and showed his favorite part of the video, it was when Naruto made the Krogan start talking like a robot.

He chuckled and then turned his Omni-tool off to hear Naruto say. "Hmm, I already thought that I could feel her when we were eating. But I didn't think she was doing something like that... That's right! I still haven't introduced myself to her. I should go and say hello now before Shepard wakes up."

Joker smiled and was to add something else when he noticed that the sensors of the Normandy turned on. Immediately, the people on the bridge informed Joker that a dreadnought of the Alliance was heading towards them. And before Joker could ask why he saw through the window on the left side of the cockpit that an Alliance vessel had suddenly appeared.

That alerted Joker since he thought that perhaps the Alliance got tired that they were working with Cerberus. "What are they doing here?" Joker nervously asked.

"Good question," Naruto added, looking through the window at the great ship. He had no desire to find it out on his own; he would just wait for them to say their intentions. The next thing he saw was that the ship connected itself with the Normandy by the boarding gate.

On the bridge, a woman said. "Joker; we've got a priority message from Admiral Hackett, requesting to come aboard."

"The Commander is still sleeping. Wait. EDI, tell the Commander about this." Joker said now turning his chair to EDI's figure.

However, before EDI could agree, Naruto spoke. "I'll tell her. Don't worry." After that, they saw Naruto floating and going through the ceiling of the ship.

Joker shook his head and added. "That guy will never know what being discreet is." But in the end, he smiled as he communicated to the Alliance vessel that they would receive their answer in a moment.

Moments earlier, in Shepard's cabin, she had begun to open her eyes slowly. Barely and she had woken up, she carried her hand on her forehead. _"Argh, how much did I drink last night?"_ She asked herself while rubbing her forehead.

After that, she got up from her bed and walked to take a shower while thinking. _"What happened last night?"_ She asked once more, trying to remember the details of the evening.

The hangover was the reason for her sudden loss of memory for the events of a few hours ago. However, as she turned the shower on and felt the first drops of water falling on her; she slowly began to remember all the details of her evening with Naruto and the subsequent talk they had in her cabin.

She started soaping her body while sighing over the outcome of the conversation. However, this time, Naruto had not told her to stop thinking about it. Rather he had very clearly said that 'it was still too soon.'

In a way, those words made Shepard smile slightly as she took her towel to put it on. She opened the door and left the bath to go to her bed, seeing that Naruto was lying there.

Naruto noticing that she had left the bathroom, he quickly got up to sit on the edge of the bed, just to hear Shepard saying. "What are you doing here?" She asked, standing right on the edge to down the stairs.

She realized that this time, it was he who looked her up and down, which made her smile to herself. However, she said nothing and waited for the response of Naruto, who after doing a complete analysis to Shepard's figure, decided to answer.

"Ehm ... What was it? ... Ah, yes! I came to tell you that Admiral Hackett requests permission to come aboard." He replied, watching Shepard walking down the stairs while a few drops of water fell to the floor.

She went to her closet and there said. "Close your eyes."

Naruto smiled and replied. "I wouldn't miss this not even crazy."

Shepard smiled back, but she answered in a serious voice. "You just do as I say, or I will throw you out the airlock."

"Yes, ma'am." Naruto replied with a smile and closed his eyes to continue. "But you better hurry, because I could open them at any time..."

"Well, open them," Shepard replied, and Naruto instantly did so, seeing that she was completely dressed. "That was... fast." He said watching her; she now wore a casual black outfit.

Shepard just smiled and then activated her Omni-tool. "Joker, permission granted."

"Aye, Commander." Shepard heard Joker answering.

"I wonder why he came," Shepard asked now looking at Naruto, who shrugged and replied. "I don't know, and I have no desire to find it out. But I don't feel bad intentions by anyone, maybe some misgivings because you work for Cerberus, but more than that, nothing."

Shepard nodded but felt the need to correct something. "I don't work for Cerberus, Naruto. We're just cooperating because they were the only ones who wanted to investigate the Reapers. Maybe the Admiral came to talk about something like that. But I don't know; I'll go to see him now. Shall we?" She asked looking at Naruto, who shook his head

"Later, call me if you need me. I'm going to introduce myself to Kasumi. I'll ask her why she was spying on us yesterday during our date." Naruto replied

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Was she doing that? Who told you?" She asked as she walked towards the exit along with Naruto

"Joker told me. Besides, Garrus told everyone we were on it when he returned from buying his new armor. But it doesn't bother me that they know it. I had a very good meeting with a beautiful woman. Also, I could eat Ramen after several millennia." He added with a smile looking at Shepard

Shepard had blushed slightly, but she had quickly pulled it away. "Yeah, I liked it too. But I think I forget my helmet and my gloves in that place. We'll have to go to the Citadel before continuing our mission."

"And I think we didn't pay the bill," Naruto added as they entered the elevator, seeing Shepard selecting the deck 2 and 3. "Well, I hope to have enough credits. I lost track of how much you ate after the fiftieth bowl." Shepard replied with a smile watching Naruto, who added. "Eighty-three bowls to be precise."

"Remind me to ask for more money from the Illusive Man the next time we go to eat," She answered

Naruto shook his head and replied, just as the elevator door swung open. "I'll invite next time. I already ordered an Omni-tool to EDI to use credits when I get them, and you will teach me how to use it when we start your training and mine."

Shepard nodded. "Okay, then we'll continue talking. I should go to see what the Admiral wants. If I need you, EDI will let you know." And then she came into the deck two to go to the Communications Room while Naruto went to the deck 3 to introduce himself to Kasumi.

Shepard had instantly heard Kelly saying that the Admiral was waiting for her in the Communications Room, so without further ado, she went there.

Upon entering the room, she saw the Admiral carefully watching the room, but stopped when he heard the door opening.

He saw Shepard coming in the room before giving him a salute, which he responded. "Commander, I'm glad to see you... alive," Hackett said in the middle of the salute.

Then they both lowered their hands, and Shepard replied. "I was just indisposed for a while. But I've already returned to kick some asses." She stated with a smile

Hackett smiled as well and added. "I bet you will."

Shepard stopped smiling and then curiously said. "I didn't expect to see you aboard a Cerberus vessel."

Hackett shrugged and replied. "I don't like Cerberus or the way they do things. But they brought you back to life, and they're actually doing something about the state of the galaxy. So, for now… I can be friendly."

Shepard nodded and then continued. "I see, but I don't think you've stopped doing whatever you were doing just to see my health condition. What's the reason for your visit?" She curiously asked.

Hackett shook his head and replied, taking his hands behind his back. "No, that's not the reason. The real reason is that I've heard encouraging news."

Shepard leaned up against the wall and asked. "Did Anderson tell you something?"

Hackett nodded. "Yes, Anderson informed me about the events of yesterday barely you left his office. If what he said is true, then we have much more hopes to win this war. That's why I came; I wanted to meet personally with the man who can destroy a Reaper with his bare hands. Although I think it's incredible, I don't believe that neither Anderson nor you would lie in something like this. "

Shepard nodded and then said, staring at the ceiling of the ship. "EDI, could you call Naruto, please?"

 **"Right away, Commander."** EDI's voice replied

Hackett to hear that voice looked with a questioning expression at Shepard. "An AI?"

"Don't worry, Admiral. It doesn't pose any threat. Everything is under control." Shepard quickly replied.

"I trust your judgment, Commander. You have nothing to worry about. I just found it interesting." Hackett added

When he had said this, they both heard the door of the room opening, and Hackett could see a man who perfectly matched with the descriptions given by Anderson.

"Did you call me, Shepard?" Naruto asked as he approached.

"Naruto, he's Admiral Hackett. He has come to meet you personally." Shepard said as he looked at Naruto and pointed with the palm of her hand to Hackett, who was looking very carefully to Naruto, who approached at his position. "Nice to meet you, Admiral," Naruto said stretching out his hand

Hackett instantly stretched his hand out and then they shared a shake of hands. "The pleasure is mine, son," Hackett answered

Naruto smiled and then moved away from Hackett, who spoke again. "I can see that Anderson's claims were correct. After this handshake, the doubts went flying from my head."

"Why do you say that?" Shepard curiously asked, not knowing why.

"I can't explain it with certainty. But I felt something inexplicable when we shake our hands." Hackett replied

Naruto scratched his head and replied. "Well, what happens is that I lived too much. I have accumulated a lot of power that I have barely used, and when someone enters into direct contact with me, they can feel some of that power. Shepard also told me that she felt something like that sometimes. But trust me; I'm solving that problem right now. I don't want to get noticed; it's not convenient. At least not yet. "

Just then, Naruto received the information of two of his clones, so he decided to continue before they said anything. "Oh, I'm sorry, but I have good news. My clones that were in Sur'Kesh and Palaven managed to convince the leaders of these planets. Commander, you only have to go to their planets and discuss a galactic alliance. Though I don't know why my clone on Thessia didn't vanish yet..." He paused as he closed his eyes to see what that clone was doing.

He instantly shook his head due to the explicit images that came to him. However, he said nothing about it since he saw Tevos there. Therefore, that made him conclude the following. "Forget it, the asaris are cooperating too."

Hackett nodded and said. "That's undoubtedly a good news. If you have managed to convince the leaders of these three races, then the path to take will be easier. Now we just have to convince the batarians and the krogans. They would undoubtedly provide a good increase in our forces if they join us. But I see it difficult due to the resentments from the past, but all in good time. I'm sure you two will find a way to make them help us. "

The other two nodded and then Hackett said. "Anderson also informed me that you will go to Earth one of these days to have a test there. Commander, send me a message when you go, I also want to be there."

"I will, Admiral. We will go when Anderson frees himself from all the work that he has on the Citadel. He said he was busy, and, therefore, he couldn't go." Shepard replied, and Naruto decided to add. "Speaking of that. Admiral Hackett, I would like that the Alliance gave me the blueprints of their vessels and ships in general. It's for something important."

Hackett raised an eyebrow. "Why would you need something like that? In addition, I think it would be a bit difficult. If it were up to me, then I would hand them over as I'm sure that you would give them a good use. However, you must know that if I say that the blueprints are for people who are cooperating with Cerberus, then I'm sorry to say that it would be hard to get those blueprints that you've asked me. "

However, Naruto shook his head but thought of something. "I'll show you what I have in mind." After saying those words, Shepard saw that Naruto did the same demonstration of the creation of the little bird when they were in her cabin.

"Wonderful..." Hackett said after seeing the bird appearing and starting flying to settle down on his right shoulder. He moved his index finger and stroked it softly, realizing that it started chirping.

While he was doing this, Naruto continued. "I plan to do something like that, but on a larger scale and with your frigates. I've learned from Shepard that you've lost many of your forces in the attack of the Sovereign. For that reason, I will help you recovering those ships. That will be my demonstration when we get to Earth after Councilor Anderson is ready to go there."

Hackett after hearing all that stopped stroking the bird to watch them. "If you can do that, then I'll do my best to get those blueprints. Maybe if I call in a favor, it wouldn't be so difficult..." He paused, realizing that now Shepard and Naruto were smiling at each other.

That called a bit of his attention. However, he ignored that and decided to move on to another topic. "By the way, what your next move will be, Commander?" Hackett asked

Shepard took her fingers on her chin while thinking. Then she answered. "Hmm, I must first go to the Citadel to pay a bill and withdraw some things that I forgot there. After that, I should go to Purgatory in search for a new crewmember."

"Hmm, Purgatory is a maximum security prison. I don't know who this recruit is, but surely it must be good enough so that Cerberus has bothered to include it in your dossier." Hackett added, and Shepard nodded.

Naruto, however, decided to speak. "Shepard, don't worry. I'll bring your items back; you don't need to return to the Citadel and waste more time. I'll go and then I'll come back to the ship."

Shepard thought about it but then nodded. "Okay, but you'll need an Omni-tool to make the payment. No, wait..." She paused while putting her hand into her pocket. Then she took out a kind of coupon and handed it to Naruto. "Here, it's a coupon for 10,000 credits. I don't think the bill will be that much, but that should be enough. You can keep the rest of it if you wish it. You can also open a transactional account with the rest at the Citadel. By the way, you can buy an Omni-tool at a store, and you'll be ready to enjoy this galaxy to the fullest." She said smiling

Naruto saw the coupon and noticed it was empty, but before he could ask how he should use it, he saw that Shepard activated her Omni-tool and instantly the number of credits appeared on the coupon, exactly 10,000 credits.

"There, that should be all," Shepard said to finish.

Naruto smiled and then kept the coupon inside one of his pockets. "Thank you, Shepard. If you both will excuse me, I'll retire. I'll go to pay the bill for what we ate yesterday and then I'll send a clone so that it brings the parts of your armor that you forgot while I open my transactional account. By the way, Admiral; you can keep that bird if you want." Then Naruto said goodbye and retired from there, entering inside his Kamui to reach in an instant to the place where the Ramen stand was.

"Hmmm, that was... surprising," Hackett said after seeing how Naruto left Then he stroked the small bird on his right shoulder.

Shepard smiled and answered. "Don't worry, he's like that. But he doesn't do it on purpose. Anyway, Admiral; I have a question."

"I'm hearing," Hackett replied and stopped stroking it.

Shepard rubbed her neck while saying. "Is the Alliance prepared for a Reaper invasion?" She finished with a raised eyebrow.

Hackett took his fingers on his chin and answered. "Hmm. That's hard to say. It took multiple fleets - and the Destiny Ascension - to bring Sovereign down. And that was just one reaper. If the Reapers come in force… we're just not ready." He said shaking his head.

Shepard nodded regretfully at those words, but Hackett continued. "But we both know very well that our hopes are higher than before. With a man like Naruto on our side, we may have the advantage. Especially if we get Naruto to build the vessels that he promised; I'll do my best to get those blueprints as I command more recruits to be trained for those ships."

Shepard smiled and added. "He told me he would be able to replicate the Normandy in exactly thirty minutes if he wanted to. Surely it would take him about two hours with a dreadnought of the Alliance. But I don't know, what I do know is that it will be a very good and impressive demonstration when we go to Earth to convince everyone that the Reapers are not a game."

"That's something I'd pay to see. Now, Commander. I would like to ask you a personal question if it doesn't bother you." Hackett asked

"Shoot," Shepard answered, and Hackett nodded. "Is there something between you two?" He earnestly asked.

"Why do you think so?" She asked with some interest

"Shepard, I have lived long enough to recognize easily when a woman is in love with someone. Those smiles and the brightness in your eyes every time you talk to him is the one of a woman in love." He answered

Shepard sighed and then nodded. "Yes, I am. It's weird. At first, I only saw him as a person who would help us winning the war against the Reapers. But that changed quickly. It's hard to explain; I just know that it happened." She paused. "Although Naruto feels nothing for me; I'd just say that we are just comrades." She finished

Hackett stared her for a few seconds before expressing the following. "Are you sure of that?"

"Why do you ask that?" Shepard replied interested.

"I've also seen something similar in his eyes. When he entered the room, and I saw him for the first time, I saw the eyes of an empty man, who only lived for a sole purpose. I assume that this purpose is to destroy the Reapers and avenge his people when the Reapers invaded his planet. But when you spoke, and he looked at you, I could see that some brightness returned in his eyes, as if you had been the beam of light that illuminated the abyss of darkness in which he has been since who knows when. I don't know how his eyes looked like the first time you saw him, but from what I've seen, I can say that you are the person who gives him a purpose besides destroying the Reapers. "

Shepard nodded surprised at those words; she had never noticed that since she had never stopped to analyze it. But now that she thought it, Hackett was right. His eyes looked dull at first, but they had gradually regained their brightness as they spent time together.

And today she noticed that his eyes were glowing, maybe something that they had spoken last night in her cabin had touched him, but she couldn't be sure, and she neither wanted to ask.

Shepard had decided to wait and give Naruto his time; she could not rush these things. Time would determine whether there might be something between them or not, but for now, the best thing was to wait for Naruto to adapt to those things and think about it.

However, Shepard was curious about something, so she decided to ask. "I... I have never seen it in that way, Admiral. But now that you mentioned it, I think you're right and thank you very much for letting me see, although I'm curious about something ... Why your sudden interest in us?"

Hackett smiled slightly and replied. "Because you're the best soldier in this galaxy and I also respect you very much. It's not as if I don't want you to have a relationship; it's the opposite. We all deserve to settle down at some point in our lives, have something else to fight for. Furthermore, I empathize with that man. I can only imagine what he had to go through to get where he is now. Living so long completely alone is certainly a curse." He stated

Shepard nodded, and Hackett continued. "But I would only tell you to fight for what you want. But I don't think I need to tell you that, after all, you're 'the' Commander Shepard. Anyway, enough of talking about your personal life. I will return doing my things; I'll go to get those blueprints for the test on Earth, and I will send someone to bring them here ASAP. See you, Commander. Good luck in your fight against the Collectors."

Then they shared a handshake and Hackett returned to his ship along with the little bird, to do what he was doing before coming here. Meanwhile, Shepard went to the galaxy map to set course to Purgatory.

Once she did it, Joker started the ship, and Shepard spoke. "EDI, tell Zaeed and Kasumi to get ready for our next mission." EDI assented, and Shepard walked to her cabin, to put her armor on while waiting for Naruto to bring the rest. She would also take advantage of the moment to talk to Kasumi; she also wanted to know why she spied on them.

When Shepard arrived at her cabin, she noticed that her helmet and gloves were already on her bed. There was no trace of the clone, however.

Surely it had dissipated just as it left her things; so she shrugged, went to her closet; put her armor on and then the rest of it.

Finally, she went to the cockpit to wait there while arriving at Purgatory, to recruit Jack, also known as Subject Zero.

* * *

 

**Notes:**

**The End.**

**Before this, I'M REALLY SORRY FOR THE DELAY. *Sigh* It was all because I couldn't find a beta reader. I had also written the next chapter, but I need to translate it. I don't know how much it will take. First, because I must prepare myself for my thesis, and besides Google fucked up thinks for me.**

**The thing is that I use Google Translator to hasten the translations, it had a particular function which is now gone (well, it's limited).**

**Anyway** **, I may still need a beta reader. So if you're interested, send me a PM. BUT DON'T DO IT IF YOU THINK YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO COMMIT YOURSELF TO IT.**

**Just do it if you think that the revisions won't take you more than two weeks and if the grammar won't bother you. (I don't want to bother you =O)**

**Okay, you already know.**

**This chapter was not as long as the previous one, but longer than the others.**

**Anyway** **, I decided to write what was happening on the home planets of the Councilors. At first, I didn't plan to do it, much less this long. But then I said to myself that it would be better.**

**The meeting on Thessia was the longest simply because I started with them. I had no intention of doing it so long, and then I restrained myself with the rest of the councilors.**

**Concerning** **what I asked in the previous chapter, the most voted options were: "Romance and Role." I'll do my best to focus on that.**

**I just want to say this; I'm a bit hesitant. I was playing Mass Effect 3, and when I played the DLC with Aria (dat ass), I could not help but think that she could have a love interest for Naruto, and Naruto also for her (quite difficult, almost impossible XD).**

**Now, they both are just "friends with benefits" and from that, something could 'grow'. Also, when I was playing Mass Effect 2 again (like twice since the last chapter.); I made my FemShepard had a romance with Liara in ME 1, and then I continued it in ME 2, and I finished it in ME 3, in the second round.**

**I've chosen Liara a very few times, but I decided to refresh my memory, and she caught my attention. Her voice is very attractive.**

**I'm not trying to do a harem; I'm only saying if Naruto could have a relationship besides Shepard, then there would be two new candidates.**

**Aria T'Loak and Liara T'Soni, the two of them in addition to Tali. However, I would only add one of these three if Naruto has another couple beside Shepard.**

**But I will do my best to keep it in just one: NarutoxShepard, and nobody else. That is not up to you nor me; it will exclusively depend on how the story develops. So don't get your hopes high, it's just a question that I'm not sure that I'll be able to fulfill.**

**That would be all, until next time. (And I hope it won't take as long as this chapter took)**


	8. Chapter 7

Organic being, talking. "Hello"

Organic being, thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

**Chapter 7**

On the Citadel

While Shepard and her crew headed to recruit Subject Zero on Purgatory, Naruto was walking around the Citadel in search of a bank to deposit the change of what they ate the former day.

Before doing that, he had appeared with his Hiraishin right in front of Teuchi, who in his surprise, jumped and had thrown to the floor the food that he was about to give to his customers.

Evidently, the sudden apparition surprised the customers, but Naruto didn't pay them much attention and had told Teuchi that he desired to pay his bill and if he had seen the gloves and helmet of Shepard's armor.

Teuchi nodded and picked up what he threw to the floor before heading to the closet to bring the items that Naruto had requested. Once he had them in hands, he walked over Naruto and handed them over. Naruto thanked him and made a shadow clone that returned said items to the Commander.

Some weak-willed people when they saw him replicating himself lost consciousness while others just gaped.

Naruto ignored the stares and paid his bill, in addition to what Teuchi had thrown to the floor because of him. He said goodbye, but not before getting close to the few people who were there to erase from their memories what had happened moments ago. After all, he did not want everyone to know about his abilities yet, except for the Normandy's crew. He walked away after saying goodbye to Teuchi.

Naruto then went to the C-Seg station and there he requested Bailey for information about places where he could deposit his money.

Bailey recommended that he should go to the Financial District of the Citadel in an X3M. He also told him to be careful with some volus and turians, and that he should always request the turians for a receipt if he didn't want troubles afterward.

Naruto nodded, grateful for the information and left the station to get to the public shuttles, as Bailey had recommended it. Although he could fly or teleport there with his Kamui, he wanted to do what Bailey said (besides, he would attract too much attention if he did anything like that recklessly).

Once he reached the nearest rapid transit, he stared at the vehicles, since he didn't know how to use them.

Consequently, he approached a turian that was about to board a vehicle along with another turian. "Hey, wait a minute," Naruto said, approaching towards them.

Both turians stopped and looked at Naruto. "What's going on?" Asked the one on the driver's side.

Naruto just stared into his eyes, which made both turians look at each other in confusion. Although, after a few seconds, Naruto spoke. "Thank you," He said smiling and raising his right thumb before heading to an X3M.

The turians looked at each other while shrugging. "Humans…" After that, they boarded the vessel and headed to somewhere on the Citadel.

Naruto, on the other hand, had opened the X3M's door and sat in the driver's seat. "Okay, here we go..." Naruto said, with the intention of putting into practice what he had learned from that turian after accessing his mind.

He held the wheel of the aircraft, touched a few buttons, and the ship left the parking lot at a neck breaking speeds towards the very busy airspace of the Citadel.

"Oh shit!" Naruto exclaimed while trying not to collide with the skycars that were around him. He turned the aircraft recklessly several times, barely dodging the other airships near him.

As he tried 'not to kill himself' and those around him, he saw a blinking light on a screen that was beneath the board. It was a button, so he pressed it while dodging more shuttles. After doing it, on the screen, a person with an angry face appeared. "Hey, you maniac! Who taught you how to drive?!" A human asked.

"Sorry," Naruto answered, touching the blinking button again and seeing another angry person who demanded the same.

Even C-Sec officers had contacted him to say that they had received reports that he was driving the skycar recklessly.

Naruto continued apologizing, but with every second that went by, he learned very quickly the proper way to use the X3M. Hence, after a few minutes, he could drive it without problems, which made the complaints stop.

He proudly smiled as he took the corresponding exit to go to the financial district. "I did it," Naruto said, with a smile and puffing out his chest.

Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head. **"I'm going out."**

That caught Naruto's attention, and before he could articulate anything, some Chakra of black color came out of his body and began to take shape very quickly. It was a little black fox with ten tails.

Naruto sighed in relief as he thought that Kurama hadn't been able to manifest himself in such a reduced size, as he was larger when he drew him out of the Gedō Mazō.

Thus, he turned his head and looked down. "You can make yourself that small? I thought that your maximum reduced size was the one when I took you out from the Gedō Mazō a few days ago." Naruto said as he looked at him, but not for long, as he had to pay attention to the road to avoid crashing against the vessels that were flying around.

 **"I already told you; you were not the only one who improved over the years. But that's not important, I've come out of your body for a reason… We need to talk."** Kurama spoke with a serious expression on his face.

Naruto sighed and replied, "Please, Kurama. I'm in no mood for such talks." He thought that Kurama wanted to speak about the outcome of the discussion he had with Shepard in her cabin the last night.

Kurama growled, showed his teeth and replied. **"You cut connection with me last night! You know very well that I hate when you do that when we're still talking."** He was not kidding, this time, he was indeed annoyed.

Naruto slightly turned his head, but looked back to the front almost instantly, to slow down the X3M and land it. "Sorry, pal. At that moment, I didn't want to continue the conversation. I was tired." He said between a sigh and slowly placing the X3M in the parking lot.

 **"That's a feeble apology. You know very well that I don't like that, and even worse that you continue doing it after everything we have gone through together."** He said with a frown, visibly irritated.

Naruto sighed and pressed the button to open the skycar's door before looking at Kurama. "Sorry, I won't do it again," He said, raising his hand towards Kurama and placing the other one on his chest.

Kurama nodded. **"I hope so…"** Although he kept on gazing at him.

Naruto then lowered his hands and asked. "Well, will you come back now or…?"

Kurama shook his head and answered. **"Well, the answer is simple. I also want to see this galaxy with my own eyes and not through you. I'm planning to relish my freedom to the utmost in this place. Besides, I'm looking forward to having a good fight while we're here. I hope that whatever the Shinigami has warned you about is something worthwhile. Although I wouldn't mind crushing a few Reapers with my tails. I'm sure they'll be surprised when they see my new size, hehe."** He laughed in amusement, and about to leave the X3M.

Naruto didn't think much of what the Shinigami had warned him about, but that did not mean that he would not take action on the matter when that threat came along. "It doesn't matter who it is; we'll eliminate them like anyone who gets in the way of my mission," He stated as he rose from his seat to leave the vessel.

Kurama smiled and added. **"That's the Naruto I remember."**

Naruto smiled back and continued. "As for the Reapers, they're already heading for this way. I estimate that they'll arrive in approximately eight months. I won't be able to prepare this entire galaxy in such a short time…" Nevertheless, he could not help smiling at the end.

Kurama seeing the smile could not help doing it as well as he also went out of the X3M. **"But with the way you're smiling I can feel that you have something in mind..."**

Naruto nodded as he walked out of the parking lot. "Of course, I always have several plans for cases like these. The Reapers will find a 'nice' surprise when they leave the dark space to enter this galaxy."

 **"And what would that be?"** Kurama asked interested, jumping high to lay down on Naruto's head (after all, he had reduced his size considerably).

"You'll know, eventually. When Shepard decides to gather the species of this galaxy to get ready, then I'll tell them, and you too will know." He replied looking up.

Kurama just nodded and said nothing; he just continued watching Naruto as he walked through the Presidium to go to the Financial District.

As they walked through the street, Kurama could not help glancing sideways as he could hear several whisper thanks to his improved hearing. He looked again to the side and saw that some people of different species were looking at him. That bothered him, but he could not know what these people were saying because he lacked the ability of Naruto of accessing in the minds of people and learning things from them.

Thus, he did not understand the different languages in this galaxy; he could understand the humans' only, as Naruto had added the language to his brain after going up aboard the Normandy.

Hence, he looked down and said. **"Hey, Naruto. Add to my brain the other languages that you've learned."**

Naruto nodded and lowered the tiny Kurama on his head to the floor, and once he did, placed his right palm on his head. "Done," Naruto said almost immediately.

Kurama just nodded, and only now, he could hear that most of those present were asking what sort of creature he was because his ten tails caused confusion in most of those present. Although there were a few ones, like the asari, who were laughing and stating that he was 'cute,' which made Kurama growl in anger.

Naruto could also hear the remarks, but he didn't bother to pay attention because he wanted to deposit the money that Shepard had given him. Although he could not help grimacing on certain occasions when those asari spoke of his 'tender' resembling of a kitten.

Nevertheless, with nerves of steel, he could ignore all those comments, contrary to Kurama, who was slowly beginning to lose the little patience he had left.

Although Naruto could not continue with his objective of reaching a bank, as several people (a few asari and a few salarians) had surrounded him. The first ones had asked Naruto if they could carry Kurama in their arms while the salarians asked him where he had found the animal on his head.

Kurama was about to burst with anger after hearing all the 'nonsense', but the straw that broke the camel's back was the next thing that said a turian C-Sec officer. "Mr., it is forbidden to go into the Presidium with pets. So I request you to hand over your pet to the animal control, it will be returned to you once you finish your affairs in this district." He said as he lit his Omni-tool to contact the animal control.

Kurama meanwhile, has suffered enough of such daring. So helplessly, he jumped from Naruto's head toward that turian while shouting, **"You insolent!"** He opened his jaw and closed it very quickly once he had the turian's arm inside. He nailed his big and sharpened teeth unceremoniously, which easily pierced through the armor and skin of the C-Sec officer, who cried out in pain as he felt the powerful bite.

The agent, amid the screams, demanded Naruto to control his pet, which made Kurama increase the strength of his bite. Nonetheless, he was not biting too hard, just enough to cause pain to the turian (he did not intend to sever his arm, which he could have done it easily with the first bite).

Naruto, seeing the fuss, approached Kurama and said. "Kurama, stop already… Remember that I have to do something else, not waste our time here."

The C-Sec officer instantly felt that Kurama diminished the intensity of his bite.

Subsequently, Kurama grunted and pulled his mouth off his arm, which fell limply. **"Okay… you're a lucky one, turian. The next time that you disrespect the King of All Beasts, then not even he will be able to save you."** He said the latter referring to Naruto, who had approached the hurt and shocked turian (after hearing Kurama speaking again).

The people who had surrounded them after Kurama had bitten the turian; just remained silent, not wanting to say anything that might upset the 'King of All Beasts' as Kurama had proclaimed himself.

The turian had sat down after requesting medical assistance, as well to ask the animal control officers to hurry up. Nonetheless, when seeing Naruto getting closer, he raised his head just in time to see him crouching in front of him. "Let me help you." Naruto requested as he attempted to approach his hand to him.

The turian, however, pulled his hand away. "Leave me alone, you and your pet have done enough. If you don't want me to arrest you, you'd better get out of here." He said, angry with Naruto and Kurama. The latter was beside Naruto, baring his teeth to the turian, who returned a defiant expression. "Yes, come on. Keep it up, I care very little that you are the 'King of All Beasts'. When you're in a cage, we will see if anyone cares about what you say."

Kurama growled angrily, but before he could do anything, Naruto put his right arm in front of him, stopping him in the act. So he looked at the turian and continued. "Seriously, let me help you. The bite of my partner is not a normal one. Soon, you will start to feel strange."

"Like what?" The turian asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you really want to know? It'll be terrible if I don't do it, so let me take care of you now before it's too late." Naruto replied

The turian, intrigued, looked at Kurama. Upon having his eyes on him, he could see that foam, and what appeared to be a substance of green color, was coming out of his mouth.

Now, intimidated, he looked back at Naruto. "O-Okay." Then he growled as he approached his hurt arm.

Everything the turian saw was a Genjutsu of Naruto. He wanted to help him, but he did not wish to force him when there were so many people around. Hence, and without further ado, he continued with the treatment.

In the crowd, a red-haired and shorthaired woman, who wore a white doctor's coat, came a little closer to see what the strange man would do to heal the wounded turian.

This woman was Dr. Chloe Michel; she had left the medical center to get supplies in the Presidium, and while she was at it, she had noticed the fuss and had decided to approach. Nonetheless, when she saw the wounded turian, she almost went to help him, but since Naruto had offered himself before Chole could, she decided to continue watching.

She didn't see him withdrawing any tools or turning his Omni-tool on, everyone had just seen him approaching his hands, and these had glowed green.

They believed he was a biotic due to that bright, but none of them knew that the biotics could heal people with their abilities.

The turian, meanwhile, stopped feeling the pain very quickly, in addition to a feeling of relief in his whole being. After a few seconds, the hands of Naruto stopped glowing and got to his feet, as well as the turian.

"How do you feel?" Naruto asked

The turian was surprised because he cured him so rapidly without using medi-gel. He looked at his arm, then at Naruto to answer. "I feel… Well, with a lot of vigor. As if I were able to mount ten guards in a row… But don't tell that to my superior." He whispered the latter.

Naruto chuckled and replied. "Understood."

The turian smiled, and when he wanted to ask him what he did, somebody else spoke first. "Hello, may I have your attention for a moment." This person spoke with a pronounced French accent behind Naruto.

Naruto turned around and realized that it was Chloe. "Go ahead, Doctor. I'm all ears." Naruto already knew her a bit due to Shepard's memories. Still that he has called her, 'Dr.' was no cause for surprise, due to her clothes.

Chloe nodded and continued. "I've never before seen any biotics with healing abilities. That's why I would like you to come with me to the medical clinic to show it to my colleagues there. Perhaps we could get more personal if you share the secret to use your powers to heal other people, and incidentally, you could help in the clinic. I would pay you for your services. "

The latter, indeed, caught Naruto's attention. So he smiled and opened his mouth to speak, but the C-Sec turian officer was faster than him. "I likewise want to offer you something. Look, what do you say if we go and see my superior? I'll tell him what you did and possibly he'll propose to you a position at C-Sec. We could use a doctor in our ranks, especially for the guys who are in the red light district of the Citadel. Things can get very ugly there. "

Other people had also offered him jobs. Some salarians invited him to research centers so that other biotics could develop medical skills with their powers; some asari said they would like to do something similar, but what they really wanted was create implants with samples of his body not to lose so much time.

Even a krogan offered Kurama a job to fight varrens in Tuchanka.

Naruto, on the other hand, decided to speak, he raised both hands and began to lower them repeatedly as he told them to be quiet. Slowly, everyone got silent, and finally, Naruto could speak.

"First, I'm not a doctor; I'm simply a kind of healer. Secondly, thank you all for your offers. However, I'm sorry for rejecting them, but I have other affairs pending on this place. In addition, I have a mission outside the Citadel, and I cannot stay in this place for long. Thirdly… you should forget all this." Then he snapped his fingers, and his eyes flashed a little bit, which instantly made those look at each other and asked themselves what they were doing here.

As they received no reply, they dispersed to continue what they were doing before they had gathered. Meanwhile, Chloe watched this with confusion, not knowing why they were suddenly acting as if nothing had happened before.

Thus, Naruto approached her, put a hand on her shoulder and spoke as he walked forward along with her. "Dr. Chloe, I'll help you with what you've asked me. But not now, it's still not the time. By the way, don't say anything about this to anyone. When the time comes, I'll contact you." Then they stopped, and Chloe turned to look at him better.

"I don't remember telling you my name, how did you know?" She demanded

Naruto made a gesture of surprise; he had dropped his guard inadvertently. Nevertheless, after briefly thinking, he came up with a simple answer. "Oh, right. I'm on a mission with the Commander Shepard, and you had previously met. She told me a little about you." That was a lie, but Naruto thought there was no need for the doctor to know the truth.

"Oh, the commander. I've heard rumors that she had died, but recently she was in the Citadel, and almost everyone found out that the Council reinstated her Specter status. Well, I'm glad she's okay. In any case, I'll do what you told me, sir…"

"Menma Namikaze," Naruto answered. He did not tell her his real name not because he did not trust Chloe, but because he wanted to continue using his false name within the Citadel.

"Nice to meet you, Menma. Then, I'll wait for you until you complete your mission with the commander. Tell her from my part that I'll continue giving her discounts on medical supplies that she acquires on my clinic."

"I will, Doctor. Have a nice day." Then they both shook hands, and the doctor said goodbye to him and Kurama, who had watched their interaction. It seemed that Naruto had erased from her memory the part where he had become angry because the turian had called him 'pet,' as Chloe had said something nearly equal and had addressed to him as if he were a regular animal, but with ten tails.

Once they saw her far enough, Kurama jumped on Naruto's head, who walked to another place. More specifically, to the nearest bank. Nevertheless, before Naruto could go far from his former position, Kurama spoke. **"Hey, you shouldn't have erased the memory of that krogan. What he was offering me seemed interesting."**

Naruto chuckled and replied. "You can't fool me. You just want to kill something; I doubt that these varrens will be sufficient to please you. Just wait about 5 or 10 more years and then we'll focus ourselves on the Reapers. That will please us both."

Kurama smiled, but then raised an eyebrow and looked down. **"That much time? You stated that the Reapers would arrive within approximately eight months. Does that surprise for them has anything to do with the time that you just say?"**

"What I mean is that we will go to the Time Dimension again. You, Red, Shepard, some people that I'll choose to train and I. Although I won't assign them to train there for so long, as they could die… Anyway, as I told you, you'll know better about it once I sit down to talk with all the leaders of this galaxy. "

Kurama looked at him with a raised eyebrow, but then shrugged and rested on Naruto's head, carefully watching the Presidium.

He saw that people were even watching him, only, this time, there were no remarks about his appearance; they merely looked at him for a few moments before continuing walking.

After a few minutes of walking through the Financial District, Naruto could see the bank and quietly entered the building.

Indoors there were several people, the receptionists were volus, and some of them were turians while the customers were a selection of different species.

He moved to a line that was moving very fast, and when arriving at the cashier, who in this case was a volus; he received him saying. "Welcome to the Galactic Bank of Citadel, Earth-clan *breathes*. What can I do for you?"

"I want to open an account in this bank and deposit this money," Naruto replied, showing the coupon.

"Oh, that won't take long *breathes*. Just give me the serial number of your Omni-tool so we can finish." The volus said as he pulled a machine to record the number of his Omni-tool.

Nonetheless, Naruto scratched his cheek and answered. "Well… The thing is that I don't own one of those things, that's why I got a credit coupon."

The volus made an expression of understanding as he said. "Oh, so in an old-fashioned way, eh? *Breathes*" Naruto smiled a bit embarrassed but nodded.

The volus saw no problems with it and searched for something in his post, taking out from one of the drawers a big book that was dusty.

The volus dusted it, opened the book and from there took a form that he handed it over to Naruto. "Please fill all the details from that form *breathes*. Besides, I need you to give me your ID number *breathes*."

Naruto instantly provided the fake number that Bailey had given him and saw that the volus wrote it in a console. Meanwhile, Naruto focused on the form and within a second, he completed it, but he had to stop to draw the volus' attention near the end.

"Pardon me, sir volus. Here it says that I need the signature and ID number of somebody who can certify this information. Is it absolutely necessary?" He asked because he had not brought anyone with him.

The volus asked him to give him the document to observe it better. Then he checked his system and told Naruto that it was necessary and that these forms needed the data to complete the document.

Naruto nodded and asked if he could take the form with him to get the signature. The volus replied that there were no problems, but that he would lose his place in the line and perhaps another person would have to attend him when he came back.

Hence, Naruto said goodbye to the volus and went to a corner where no one could see him. He looked at Kurama and asked if he could return to his body, but hearing that he wanted to be out a little longer ended that.

Naruto nodded and disappeared along with Kurama in a yellow flash, towards Purgatory, where Shepard and her team already were.

Osun System - Maximum Security Prison 'Purgatory.'

Shepard, Zaeed, and Kasumi had arrived at the maximum-security prison called Purgatory in Osun. There, some members of the Blue Suns, who had requested Shepard and her squad to drop their weapons, greeted them.

Obviously, Shepard had refused, which had caused a dispute on the ship. Nonetheless, a turian, called Kuril, who was the warden of the prison, had stopped this by saying that it was just the standard procedure.

Shepard had nodded, but she didn't hand the weapons over, which Kuril had allowed because he trusted the security of his prison in the case that Shepard attempted something.

Shepard was not worried and asked Jack's location. Kuril replied that she needed to go to the Outprocessing area of the ship to 'receive the package.'

Thanking the warden for the help, Shepard had left the lobby and walked towards the specified location, but not before stopping and talking to some prison guards and even with some prisoners who were in the corridors. The latter wanted Shepard to buy them to get out of jail, but they quickly changed their minds once Zaeed informed them that they were in this place for Jack.

She passed through a gate and came to a room, a place where a man who was in front of a console had told her that the Outprocessing area was through the door on the far side of the room.

Hence, Shepard and her team walked to that place, and when they were in front of the door, it automatically swung open. Nonetheless, Shepard and the others raised an eyebrow as the room was a prison cell, and before she could ask what was going on, she heard Kuril's voice saying through the intercom.

"My apologies, Shepard. You are more valuable as a prisoner than a customer. Drop your weapons and proceed into the open cell. You will not be harmed."

Shepard after that gestured with her middle finger as she looked at the surveillance camera. "Go to hell. I'll send you there myself." Upon saying that, in front of Shepard, a yellow flash appeared, and instantly Naruto and Kurama showed up, making Kasumi and Zaeed quickly drew their weapons out in surprise.

"Activate systems!" Kuril exclaimed before anyone could speak.

After they had heard his exclamation, Kasumi took the floor when she saw that it was Naruto. "Oh, well. It's the boy of the whisker marks, and… a fox?" She asked the latter, looking strangely at Kurama, who was giving her an intimidating smile, which had an effect on her.

Nonetheless, she shook her head and looked back at Naruto to ask. "How did you do that? It's a new kind of tactical cloak that I'm not aware of?"

"No, it isn't that, Kasumi. I'll explain you later; I came for another reason…" He paused and looked at Shepard, who seemed to be having a staring contest with Kurama. "Shepard, I need you to sign some papers for me, can you help me?" Naruto asked which stopped the match.

Shepard was about to answer, but could not because several Blue Suns soldiers entered from the main door.

She quickly ordered everyone to take cover, including Kurama, who ignored her and decided to remain in the same place to see what Naruto would do.

Naruto hid behind chairs just like Shepard, who looked at Naruto as she prepared herself to open fire. "Naruto, you said that you wanted me to train you. Well then, this will be your first real combat training. There's only one condition; you can't use any of your special moves, do you understand?" She asked before standing up slightly and shooting against some turians and batarians that were approaching with shotguns.

"Yes, ma'am!" Naruto exclaimed, smiling with excitement.

Shepard did it as well, but then put a serious face and asked after ordering Zaeed and Kasumi to cover them. "Do you have any knowledge with guns?" It seemed a silly question, but she didn't lose anything to ask it.

Surprised, she saw Naruto nodding and saying. "Something like that… Does this count?" Subsequently, Shepard saw in shock as his right arm became a kind of cannon that gave off dozens of other cannons. That caused a sweatdrop on Shepard's head, due to how extravagant the technique looked. Nevertheless, she shook her head before looking into his eyes, realizing that they had changed to those purple eyes.

Again, she shook her head and answered. "No, that doesn't count. Take this…" She said as she handed him her M4-Shuriken over. "You must pull the trigger and watch out the recoil; it shoots in bursts… Now, get ready!" Shepard exclaimed while surrounding herself with her biotic cloak to use her biotic charge, swatting one of the batarians that was without shield thanks to Kasumi and Zaeed.

Naruto upon having the gun in his hand returned the other one to normal. He looked at the small gun, then to his mission partners and finally to the attackers. _"Well, I didn't want to kill anybody. But I asked to be trained, and this is part of the training."_ Naruto thought as he rose from his cover and carried his gun forward.

He pointed it to a batarian who already seemed to be at death's door, but when he was about to pull the trigger with many doubts, he had the pleasant surprise of seeing an FENRIS Mech approaching his position. _"I think that for now I won't have to kill anyone…"_ He thought with a smile now pointing to the FENRIS.

Aiming was the easy part, but after shooting, he could not even hit it once because the recoil took him by surprise. Still, he quickly put the weapon in the correct position (this time bearing in account the recoil) and fired again at the robotic dog.

This time, the bullets made contact. However, he ran into another problem... all the bullets had bounced from the Mech that was already a few centimeters away from him and was about to release its electric charges on him.

He took distance from the Mech, quickly jumping back to cover himself behind a table and give himself a few more seconds. Once there, he pointed his gun at the robotic canine, but again, he met another problem, which was bothering him already.

When he had tried to shoot, the gun just failed to do so. So he quickly shouted to Shepard, who was easily finishing off with the enemies with a combination of her most powerful biotic attacks accompanied by accurate shots from the weapons of all the squad members. "Shepard! This thing won't shoot!"

Shepard quickly understood what he meant, so she immediately took one of her thermal clips and threw it Naruto, who caught it instantly. "Remove the thermal clip from your weapon and put that in," Shepard said as she threw her Shockwave towards the enemies without shields.

Naruto, meanwhile, looked at the gun and searched for the place where the thermal load was. He did not take long and saw a kind of switch to remove the load, and when he was about to press it, he saw that the FENRIS was already in front of him and freeing from its head an electric current that gave entirely on him, which make him drop the weapon.

Zaeed and Kasumi quickly turned around to help him. Nonetheless, they stopped and raised an eyebrow when seeing Naruto standing still and receiving the discharges from the Mech as if it were nothing, but with a look of annoyance that increased by every discharge he received from the FENRIS.

Shepard also turned to see Naruto in time clenching hard his right fist and with a look of anger on his face. Hence, Shepard looked at her squad and exclaimed. "Zaeed, Kasumi, get out of there!"

Both of them followed her order without complaint and went forward to finish off the rest of the enemies that kept coming through the entrance of the room. Moreover, just as they had done that, all those present saw Naruto raising his right fist and lowering it quickly towards the Mech.

"You are… Stop bothering me," Naruto then touched the Mech, crushing it instantly. But unwittingly, he rammed his fist into the concrete floor of the room.

The floor creaked and cracked very quickly, while the supporting pillars that were below broke due to Naruto's overwhelming force, thus making the floor fell to the lower level.

"What the hell?!" Said one of the prison guards as he tried to run towards the exit, but could not make it, so he fell to the lower level like the other guards who were nearby, which caused broken bones or awful deaths due to the debris that fell upon them.

Shepard, Kasumi, and Zaeed had managed to reach safety, the last two thanks to Shepard's order. Some of the guards who were going to enter the room also managed to survive, but they wouldn't try their luck and ended up fleeing out of fear.

Later, both squad members looked at Shepard and simultaneously said, "Where did you get this guy?", because neither of them had seen Naruto's abilities so far, except for Zaeed, but that was not as shocking as this.

Shepard sighed and put her shotgun on her hip. "I'll tell you later..." She waited for Naruto to reappear, ignoring the unsatisfied stares of Zaeed and Kasumi (they still were curious, after all).

After a few seconds, the three of them saw Naruto with Kurama on his head, floating back to the level where they were. That apparently surprised Shepard's squad mates, but they said nothing, as they would wait for the commander's explanation.

They saw him smiling and heard him saying as he showed Shepard's M4-Shuriken. "Look, I didn't lose your weapon."

Shepard didn't smile and asked, almost with a sigh. "Why did you do that, Naruto?"

Growling, Naruto replied as he got completely out from the opening. "That damned Mech annoyed me; you don't know how much! Argh! Just as I was to do what you told me, it made me throw the gun. So I couldn't help but be pissed off." Naruto replied, landing in front of them with his arms crossed and a pout on his face.

Shepard shook her head again and replied. "Well, try not to do anything like that again. Remember that you're in a spaceship, and if you end up destroying it, that wouldn't be good for the three of us." She said pointing to herself and those who were beside her.

Naruto scratched his head but nodded. "Okay. I'll let you continue with the mission from here, as I'm not yet ready to use weapons in actual combat. So, would you sign the papers?"

"Okay, do you have a pen?" She asked, but saw Naruto shaking his head. However, this was no problem, since Naruto just created it, which made Shepard shake her head but ended up receiving it.

"What the hell are you?" Zaeed asked puzzled.

When he first saw him using that barrier, he had not been surprised because he thought that it was some new technology. Nonetheless, he understood that he wasn't anyone ordinary by the look in his eyes. Only now, he knew why he had thought of that, but still, he couldn't help being surprised.

"Huh? I had already told that I could do all this, Zaeed. Did you forget that already?" He asked, surprised due to his question. They had spoken a few times after Shepard recruited him, after all.

Zaeed shrugged and replied. "I thought they were pure bullshit. Most people tend to do that when they meet other people, so I thought it was that."

"Even you?" Naruto asked with a smile that also made Zaeed smile. "Sometimes…"

Hearing the 'pleasant conversation,' Kasumi decided to speak. "Well, well, well. Undoubtedly, you're someone talented; I can already see why the commander put her eye on you…" She said with a chuckle as she realized that Shepard blushed slightly while signing Naruto's papers.

After that, Kasumi continued. "Hehe, good. Hey, the boy of the whiskers, would you mind giving me a hand with something that I've planned?"

Shepard slightly raised an eyebrow just like Naruto, who asked. "With what?"

Kasumi instantly turned her Omni-tool on and showed some building blueprints of the Citadel. "There will be an art exhibition in the Citadel in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you could help me keeping an eye on it."

"Kasumi..." Shepard said, staring at her and handing the form over to Naruto, who kept it again.

"Hehe, just kidding. I actually wanted to ask you something else…" She paused for a moment, waiting for everyone to have her attention.

Then she smiled and continued. "I want you to be the commander's husband…"

At that, Naruto automatically choked on his saliva, which made him cough, while Shepard had an almost equal reaction. Zaeed, meanwhile, watched the reaction of both of them with a smile and Kasumi as well.

"E-Ehm… W-well…" Shepard stuttered due to Kasumi's words.

Naruto also felt a little uncomfortable, but he managed to utter. "F-For what purpose?"

Kasumi covered her mouth to hide a giggle; she could not help having fun due to their reaction. Then she pulled it away and spoke more seriously. "Don't be so serious. I don't want you to get married for real; it'll be part of a mission… You already heard it when we met in the Citadel for the first time. Some inconveniences appeared, and Shepard won't be able to go alone. Specifically, her 'husband' will have to accompany her. "

Instantly, both of them released an "ooh" in understanding. Then Kasumi continued. "So what do you think? At first, I had in mind to invite another person to go with Shepard. But after seeing you guys having such a nice date on the Citadel, I thought it would be better if Naruto were that person."

Naruto then raised his hand, attracting Kasumi's attention. "Well, if that's what you need, then I don't mind. I'll gladly help you… What do you say, Shepard?" He asked now looking at her.

"Um… Well… I think it'd be interesting. I don't have any problems with it." She answered.

Kasumi smiled and continued. "Very well. I'll tell you when it will be so the three of us can go together."

Both nodded, and Naruto continued. "Very well. Then I'll leave; I'll let you continue with the mission. By the way, Shepard, I'm sorry for failing the training. I'll do better the next time. Oh and your training will probably begin today, so I recommend you to prepare yourself physically and mentally for it. Now if you'll excuse me, I must go to deliver these documents to the bank. "

He bowed slightly at three and then disappeared in a yellow flash along with Kurama. "Wow!" Kasumi exclaimed surprised to see him disappearing like that. Zaeed was too, but he did not show it much.

Shepard, on the other hand, took out her shotgun again and said, "Let's go," continuing with the mission

Fifteen minutes later – On the Normandy.

Naruto had successfully opened and deposited the money into his bank account; he was happy because now he would be able to use his own money in this galaxy. Now all he needed was an Omni-tool, but he thought that he would have to wait some time until the Normandy returned to the Citadel or it went somewhere where they could buy them.

Thereby, he had returned to the ship's hangar with his Hiraishin, and EDI instantly noticed his arrival. So without wasting any time, she said. **"Naruto-san, the Illusive Man requests your presence in the Communications Room."**

"What for?" Naruto asked, looking at the ceiling of the ship with a raised eyebrow.

**"It has to do with the blueprints that you requested and another issue that he did not inform me."**

"Thank you, EDI." Naruto said and, as strange as it seemed, he took the elevator to go to the Deck two and subsequently to the communications room, but not before briefly speaking to Mordin and ask him how his research to fight the paralyzing swarms of the Collectors was.

Mordin had answered in his own way that he was still undergoing the investigations and that he needed some time to implement the countermeasures. Although he had said something about wanting Naruto's tissues to synthesize them, Naruto had nervously smiled at the implication and just said they would talk about that later.

Naruto did not bother him more and went to the communications room. Once there, Naruto stood on the platform, and the orange dome surrounded him.

His image was projected, and Naruto could see the Illusive Man, who, as always, was sitting in his chair and smoking a cigarette. "Jack Harper, EDI has informed me that you wanted to talk to me concerning the Normandy's blueprints. But I have no desire to discuss your insecurities, so just hand them over and let's get this over with…" Naruto spoke bluntly

The Illusive Man, not yet used to hearing his real name, could not help feeling uncomfortable. Even so, he gave a big drag on his cigarette and managed to focus on the reason for his call. "There's no need to discuss, Naruto. I've already sent the blueprints to EDI. She has the authorization to give them to you or the commander. You would need an Omni-tool only to download the data."

Naruto nodded and continued. "I see… Do you need me for anything else? If not, then I'll withdraw." He turned around, prepared to leave. Nevertheless, the voice of the Illusive Man stopped him.

"There's something else, something important that needs your help. You're the only one I think who could do this."

Naruto turned around, now intrigued by the words of the Illusive Man. "And what would that be?" He asked.

The Illusive Man made a console appear in front of him, which had a lot of information and spoke as he read it. "There is a problem in a human colony called Fehl Prime. I have an undercover agent in that place; I suspect that they, the Collectors, have indoctrinated him. In any case, he still responds to me, but his latest report has left me a bit worried."

"And what does the report say?" Naruto asked.

The Illusive Man took a drag from his cigarette and answered, releasing the smoke. "He's sending signals and vital information about the colony to the Collectors."

"With what purpose?"

"It seems that he's trying to obtain information on the Collectors by himself. Although I think it's incredible, he told me he got some kind of deal with them in exchange for the information that I mentioned." The Illusive Man replied.

Naruto instantly brought his fingers to his chin, thinking about this. Then he took them off and looked at the Illusive Man. "Why do you ask me to do this? Why don't you ask Shepard? And more importantly, what do you care what might happen to this colony? I'm sure that you care more about the information that the humans from that place have. "

The Illusive Man nodded, which did not surprise Naruto. "You're correct. However, the fact that I have the suspicion that my agent has been indoctrinated makes me doubt the veracity of the information that he tries or might try to convey. Therefore, I don't have the intention of sacrificing a human colony for any information that might be wrong, even more if I can help it…" He made a short pause, as he saw that Naruto just continued watching him.

"And it's within my power to ask for the favor of stopping the Collectors from destroying that colony and abducting all the humans in their path. Moreover, I can only ask this of you; I'm sure that a Collector ship and its swarms wouldn't be a problem for you. Also, a ship like the Normandy would call unnecessary attention and could jeopardize the entire crew…"

Naruto nodded and replied. "You're right; destroying a collector ship wouldn't be difficult. However…" He made a short pause, seeing that the Illusive Man raised an eyebrow.

"I won't do it; it's not my problem." That statement surprised the Illusive Man, but before he could say anything, they both heard that the room door opened.

"What isn't your problem?" Shepard asked to enter the room, surprised that these two were talking after the scene that involved them.

Naruto turned around but said nothing, the Illusive Man spoke. "You come at an opportune time, Commander. I was talking to our 'esteemed demigod' on an issue that affects a human colony in the Terminus Systems."

"What's the problem?" Shepard asked, and the Illusive Man instantly told her everything that he had told Naruto.

Upon completion of the story, Shepard looked at the ceiling and said. "Joker, set course to Fehl Prime. We'll go there immediately."

"Understood, Commander." They heard Joker's voice.

Nonetheless, before Naruto could say anything, the Illusive Man spoke. "Sorry, Shepard. But you must withdraw that order…"

"Forget it; we'll help that colony. I don't care what you say." Shepard said.

This time, the Illusive Man got up from his seat and moved closer to the projector. "You're being stubborn, Shepard. You can't go there, remember that you still don't have the countermeasure to avoid the Collectors' swarms in case they arrive. In addition, you can't get near to the colony with a Cerberus ship, there's Alliance presence, and we both know very well that Cerberus and the Alliance have their differences…"

Shepard growled, not liking what he was saying. He had a point, but that only made her angrier. Naruto, realizing this, put a hand on her shoulder to try to reassure her. Despite that, she pushed it to one side and replied to the Illusive Man. "Well, then I'll send them a message warning them about it..."

"I'm afraid that you can't do that either, Shepard. A message sent by Cerberus? Do you think that will take your warning seriously? There's also the risk that the Collectors intercept the message." The Illusive Man replied.

Shepard crossed her arms and said. "So what do you suggest? That we let the whole colony be abducted and that we stay here with folded arms while that happens?"

The Illusive Man quickly shook his head. "No, I've already suggested a solution. Now, you must convince the only one man who can do something about it, to take the right decision." He said looking at Naruto, who could not help sighing, even more so when he realized that Shepard turned around to face him.

"Naruto…" Shepard said.

"Come on, Shepard. I've said that it's not my problem. I can't interfere in such things this lightly." Naruto said, but he started regretting it when he saw the expression on Shepard's face.

She was frowning and was giving a penetrating gaze as if she were defying him with her eyes. He could not deny that her expression surprised him and pleased him at the same time. That was the expression he had seen when, with all her might, she managed to resist his influence. Furthermore, that expression had been the one that persuaded him to help her in the fight against the Reapers. Thus, Naruto smiled to himself.

"Cut the crap, Naruto. You have the power to do something for REAL, to make a REAL change, and yet you refuse? Do you even have a logical reason to do so?" She asked, bringing her face closer to Naruto's, raising her head to look into his eyes.

Naruto also looked back, realizing that Shepard somehow increased the intensity on her face.

Kurama, who had already returned inside of Naruto, smiled and said. **"Hehehe. This human won't give up; you should say something…"**

Naruto sighed and slightly stepped away from Shepard. "Okay, I'll do it…"

Shepard smiled, and the Illusive Man sat back in his place. "It's good to see you've come around..." He tried to continue, but Naruto's voice stopped him.

"However, this will be the last time I'll be involved in something like this," Naruto added

"Why? I thought that you wanted to help people?" Shepard asked with a raised eyebrow, puzzled by Naruto's behavior.

Naruto looked at her and replied with a straight face. "Shepard, tell me. Who do you think I really am?"

For some reason, Shepard felt cornered by the question; even more so due to the expression on Naruto's face. It reminded her of the expression when they had first met. It was not an aggressive one, but it made her nervous, as that face showed the amount of experience that he had over her.

"I don't know…" Shepard replied.

Naruto then softened his expression, which made Shepard mentally sigh. "Shepard, I'm the person who makes the Reapers feel the terror. They fear me; they're terrified of my presence. They, the Reapers, the machines that want to 'preserve' all traces of intelligent organic life in the universe, feel the fear of an organic being."

"They fear you?" The Illusive Man asked with interested to hear such a claim; it was one of his doubts regarding them, after all.

Naruto turned his head to look at him. "Yes, but they first saw me as someone who 'stood' in their objectives. But that changed after I revived…" He realized that Shepard was about to ask why, but Naruto answered before she could speak. The Illusive Man, on the other hand, was quite shocked after hearing him saying that he revived.

"Shortly after I finished off with the Reapers and returned to live, thousands of Reapers headed to my planet to do a revision in search for the artifact that they needed. I didn't know that; I had just left my planet because I was furious since I didn't destroy them as I had believed it…" He paused for a moment and they could see him clenching his fists. Shepard looked at him somewhat sadly, whereas the Illusive Man, with interest.

Naruto shook his head to avoid being carried away by the anger and continued. "I ventured into the dark space as I could feel that they were coming to my galaxy through that place. And when I found them..."

He paused again, and this time, they saw him raising his right fist and gritting his teeth tightly as he spoke. "I destroyed them; I tore them apart. I toyed with them. I made them feel the terror in its purest form; I took the trouble so that they could feel what I wanted them to feel!" This time, he could not contain himself, remembering those days were still somewhat sensitive for him.

Although he had told Shepard that he could easily control his anger, there were times when even he came to lose his temper. Shepard upon seeing him like this could not help being worried. Not because she had feelings for him, but because she was not sure what could happen if Naruto were to lose control. In addition, he was releasing a bit of his killing intent, even though Shepard did not know what it was, she recognized the feeling due to her first experience with the Shinigami.

Thereby, she stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto…" She whispered, and Naruto instantly noticed his loss of composure.

The Illusive Man spoke as Naruto breathed slowly. "And how did you accomplish something like that?"

Naruto gently placed his hand on Shepard's and pulled it away in the same way. Turning his head slightly, he gave her a small smile and thanked her.

Shepard nodded and stepped back while Naruto gave one to the front and looked back at the Illusive Man. "That's something you don't need to know right now, Jack Harper. Maybe, someday I'll tell you, but for now, I won't."

"Very well, but I hope that you can continue with the story you were telling moments ago." The Illusive man politely answered. After all, the only thing that interested him now was to stay alive to fulfill the mission to destroy the Reapers. Although he had already selected the best researchers from his organization to investigate whatever it was inside him, as well as a possible cure for it. He didn't want to follow Naruto's orders forever as a lapdog.

Naruto nodded and continued where he left off. "Amid the confusion of what they so suddenly began to feel, they tried to attack me, but it was useless due to my immortality. Therefore, they had no choice but to flee in terror. I destroyed some of them, and I allowed the others to escape. It was there when I made a big mistake…"

They saw him shaking his head before continuing. "I made sure that the surviving Reapers become carriers of what made them feel fear..."

The Illusive Man and Shepard gasped, then Shepard spoke while stepping forward. "Carriers?"

Naruto nodded and continued. "Something like that, like a virus or a time bomb, which would be released and 'would infect' the other Reapers once the 'carriers' arrived where the others were."

"Does that mean that you could have used a method to kill them rather than creating feelings for them?" The Illusive Man asked; it was something that Shepard almost asked too.

Naruto shook his head. "No, it wouldn't have worked. Something like that would have been aggressive, and the Reapers would have quickly noticed it, which would have made that only a few of them perish. Instead, what I did was slow and silent. They didn't even notice the 'upgrade' that I implanted in them because they weren't in a situation that would have made them feel fear." With a short pause so that they could assimilate his words, continued. "And that was due to my stupidity and state of fury. It was stupid on my part, but at that time, I just wanted to take the sense of frustration off my chest. If my head had been cool back then, I wouldn't have done something like that."

He paused again, seeing nods from both of them. The Illusive Man was the one who paid more attention since he ignored much of what he said.

Then Naruto continued. "After that, they again tried to attack me. That's when they noticed their 'upgrades' and, thereby, I could destroy them more easily. The fear they began to feel was what led them to build a Mass Relay in my system. I thought they did it to reach my world more quickly, but they wanted to destroy it to destroy my solar system. But at the time they finished building and destroying the Relay, I had already placed around my planet the barrier that you are already aware of. After that, they never bothered again, and I began to send signals to other species, like yours, to come to my world so I could help them. "

"How many years do you estimate these events lasted?" The Illusive Man asked.

"A few centuries," Naruto replied.

The Illusive Man nodded, now curious to know more about this enigmatic person. However, Shepard spoke again. "So are you worried that they may know of your presence and decide to be more cautious?"

This time, Naruto nodded and replied. "Something like that. I don't want the Reapers to know about my presence yet, as this could cause problems like the one you quoted. But there are others, among them, and the one that worries me more, it's that they decide not to attack and only use their ability to indoctrinate, making you kill each other. In addition, in case you haven't noticed it yet, the Collectors are mere pawns of the Reapers. I'm absolutely sure that if they see me and recognize me, they will inform them on this, which could lead to the scenario that I mentioned. "

Only now, they could understand Naruto's reasons for not wanting to help the colony. "But don't worry, I'll go there. I'll make sure they don't know I was there. Besides, I could be wrong, and this could be just a theory. It could be that the Reapers have already taken care of this problem a while ago, or maybe they didn't. Although as I said, this will be the last time." He ended with a serious expression.

"Very well, it's decided." Said the Illusive Man, who then heard Naruto speak. "I need a current image of the planet, an area not too far away or too close from the human colony."

The Illusive Man instantly turned his console on and searched the image that Naruto asked for in his database. Naruto carefully watched it and nodded. "Thanks, I'll get ready. Do you need anything else?" Naruto asked.

The Illusive Man shook his head. "Right now, nothing else. If I need something, EDI will let you know." Then the transmission ended.

Meanwhile, Shepard and Naruto looked at each other before walking toward the exit. When the door opened, both could see Miranda and the recruit, Jack, who was leaning against the wall with a look of boredom.

When she saw them, she let out a sigh of annoyance and moved away from the wall. "At last, damn it! Did you finish talking to your boss?" She asked, looking at Shepard, who sighed. Then Shepard looked at Miranda and said, "Just give her the access she needs," referring to the Cerberus database that Jack had requested to access before leaving Purgatory.

Hearing that, Jack chuckled and looked at Miranda. "Heard that, precious? We're going to be friends. You, me and every embarrassing little secret." She said it with extreme sweetness and sarcasm. Then she continued. "I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of traffic. Keep your people off me it's better that way." Then she turned around to retire but realized that Naruto was looking at her intently.

"And what are you looking at, Catman?" Jack asked angrily, calling him that due to his whisker marks.

Naruto almost fell backward, and could not utter a single word because the mere mention of that astonished him.

Jack, meanwhile, snorted at Naruto before going to the engineering deck's basement.

Naruto sighed and smiled slightly, realizing that both Miranda and Shepard laughed subtly. "She will be a tough nut to crack, huh?" Naruto said with a chuckle, which caused an equal laughter by the women before him.

Subsequently, Naruto apologized and turned around to leave, but before he did it, Miranda stopped him gently touching his arm. "Naruto…" she said, and Naruto turned around.

"Yeah? What's going on?" Naruto asked

"Well, I want to talk to you alone when you can... It's about the talk we had the other day." She answered, a bit nervous and subtly glancing at Shepard.

Shepard raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Naruto nodded and replied. "It'll be a pleasure. I'll personally go once I finish the mission that your boss just assigned me."

"What mission?" Miranda asked with interest.

"I'll tell you once I return, but I may send a clone. Still, just wait for my return so we can properly talk."

Both saw that Miranda nodded and said goodbye. As he walked to the exit door, Naruto bent his head down and looked down as he led his fingers on his chin. _"Look at that ass…"_ He thought as he nodded and watched Miranda wiggling her hips while walking.

 **"And maybe you'll obtain something from that talk…"** Kurama added with a smile.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and replied. _"Oh? And I thought you supported the idea of me having a relationship with the Commander."_

Kurama shrugged and replied. **"Hey, don't misunderstand me. You know I don't care whom you have sex with. What interests me is that you are happy, and from what I have seen so far, the blonde human woman is the only one who can offer that."**

Naruto rolled his eyes but asked something else to change the subject. _"Oh, now that I remember. What's your opinion regarding the humans in this galaxy? Do you hate them as well as the humans of our world?"_

Kurama growled and answered. **"Humans, turians, salarians and so on. They're all the same; they only desire power. I'm sure that if they could put me on a leash, they would. I see nothing different from the species from this place, they're as despicable as the humans that kept me, prisoner, my entire life."**

 _"Interesting, interesting. I can see that you're still a racist, xenophobic even."_ Naruto seriously said, but smiling to himself.

 **"Hey! I have many friends who are not of my nature."** Kurama replied, not agreeing with the words of his container.

 _"Oh yeah? Well, who?"_ Naruto asked, moving his eyebrows.

 **"Well… Well, you! One is more than enough… Damn humans..."** He softly said the latter, but Naruto could hear him and could not help laughing.

The talk was in Naruto's mental landscape. Therefore, the time had run slower outside than inside, so Shepard didn't notice anything strange; she could see him nodding only while looking at Miranda's ass, which made her sigh.

Then the door closed, and Miranda was gone, so Naruto lifted his head and walked toward the exit. "I'll go to prepare myself in the hangar, Shepard." Naruto said and left the room as well as Shepard, who said she would accompany him.

When passing through the command post, Kelly had told Shepard that she had new messages at her private terminal, but she had decided to read them later. They took the elevator, and when they entered, and it had closed, Shepard spoke.

"Are you angry?" She asked, turning her head toward him.

Naruto did the same, somewhat puzzled by the question. "No, why?"

"Well, I thought you'd be angry because you were forced to go to a mission that you didn't want to go. You were right, we didn't know your reasons, and yet, we forced you to do something you didn't want to do. Now I understand why you wanted me to train you. Besides, there was that moment..." She referred to the moment when Naruto had brought out some of his anger.

Naruto shook his head and replied. "About that… I'm sorry; I shouldn't have been carried away by the memories." Shepard was to say to that it was not important, but Naruto continued before Shepard could speak. "But don't worry. The bad memories caused that moment of breakdown, not you. So no, I'm not angry. Just a little worried because things could go wrong. Though, I have enough experience to keep that from happening. I will enter as a ghost and will go out in the same way. "

When Shepard heard the latter, she turned her head and asked out of curiosity. "Wait. Literally or figuratively?"

"Which do you prefer?" Naruto asked with a smile that rubbed off on Shepard. "Heh, you and your crazy claims." After she had said that, the elevator door opened, and they went into the hangar.

As they did, Naruto said, "By the way," he stopped and put his hand inside the robe he always wore on board the Normandy. Shepard also stopped and saw Naruto taking out the weights, that he had shown her before. "Time to start your training, Shepard. I want you to put these weights on now."

Shepard, who had already taken off her armor before going into the communications room, nodded and grabbed the weights, realizing they were quite light.

She said nothing about it and put one in each leg and the rest on each wrist. Then she looked at Naruto and asked. "Now what?"

Naruto smiled and wordlessly lifted the middle and index finger of his right hand. Instantly, some seals in the weights appeared and glowed.

Shepard groaned because they rapidly increased in weight. She tried to stay on her feet, but could not do so because they reached a weight that she could no longer stand.

She fell forward but had the misfortune that her right wrist fell on her left forearm. Therefore, she growled and exclaimed "Argh!" due to pain. In addition, she could easily hear that her bone cracked, indicating that her arm broke.

Naruto did nothing, just stared at Shepard trying to take her heavy wrist off her sore forearm. _"Damn…"_ Shepard thought, gritting her teeth and making an extraordinary effort to move her wrist.

 _"This is impossible…"_ Shepard thought again, this time starting to become frustrated because she could do nothing.

Therefore, she tried to surround herself with her cloak in an attempt to lighten the load, but Naruto raised his fingers again, thereby increasing the burden of the weights and making Shepard lose her concentration, and, this time, she cried out in pain. "AAAAAH!" She could not contain it, nor a small tear that escaped from her right eye.

As she could, she looked up, realizing that Naruto had raised his fingers. Then she saw that he brought them down, and the weights returned to their previous weight. _"I get it. He wants me to do this with my own strength."_ Shepard thought, now knowing why Naruto did that. _"But I must hurry up, or I'll lose my arm."_ She thought the latter with some trepidation, but then changed her expression to one of determination.

She crumpled her face, gritted her teeth and growled while doing a superhuman strength to take her wrist off her forearm. Nevertheless, this time, instead of trying to lift it, she began to draw it back very slowly.

Naruto mentally smiled at this just like Kurama. After a few seconds, that seemed like hours for Shepard, she managed to pull her wrist off her forearm, and instantly after doing so, she placed her head on the floor and released a sigh with relief. Although she could not help growling in pain as she felt the pulsation of her broken forearm.

Then she felt the weights returned to normal, but still she had no desire to lift her head, as she felt utterly exhausted. She could articulate the following words only. "Take me to the infirmary…"

Naruto, meanwhile, smiled, squatted in front of her and said as he brought both hands to Shepard's arm. "Congratulations, Shepard. You've completed the first phase of your training exceptionally well. I didn't think that you were going to do it so quickly, but I knew if I pressed you, you would give me a surprise."

Shepard at that moment felt that Naruto touched her arm and began to lift it very gently. She moaned in pain and turned her head to see what Naruto was trying to do.

She saw that he was doing the same thing he did to Garrus after the Blue Suns attacked him on Omega. "You know, Shepard? I also had to go through similar things when I was a child. Hehehe, the downside was that I had to put up with it until I could heal myself. But you don't have to worry about that, I'll do that for you…" After saying that, Naruto's hands glowed and Shepard instantly felt a relaxing chill.

 _"W-What is this?"_ Shepard thought shocked because of the sense of calm and relaxation that had invaded her as Naruto continued using his healing ability.

After a while, Naruto pulled his hand away and Shepard released a sigh of relief. Then she looked at her arm and realized that there was not even a single mark, and that was not all; she did not feel tired at all. "What did you do?" She asked, interested to learn more about Naruto's abilities.

Naruto scratched his head while answering. "Well, I had already told you on that occasion when I did the same to Garrus. I conveyed to you my energy and your wounds healed with it."

"That's Chakra, right?" She asked as she watched Naruto pulling a scroll out of his robe.

"Vital energy." Naruto corrected while opening the scroll.

Shepard raised an eyebrow and asked. "Vital energy? That sounds dangerous." She saw Naruto nodding as he released clothes from the scroll, which did not surprise her at all. Only the clothes that came out from there caught her eye.

It was a black hooded robe and a mask that looked like some kind of demon. "Yes, it's dangerous. But as you know, I'm immortal, and I have no problem to squander my vital energy. Well, except for the technique that you heard the Shinigami say before we left his kingdom."

"Why?" She asked with interest.

Naruto left his garments on the floor and looked with some seriousness to Shepard. "For starters, I can quickly regenerate my vital energy. That's why I'm not worried to use such techniques lightly. But the other one that the Shinigami mentioned is different because I have to summon the King of Hell and give it almost all of my vital energy to revive one or several people. The amount doesn't matter, the King of Hell, Gedō, doesn't discriminate. It only takes as much energy as possible from you to revive the people you want. Then, before it leaves, it drags you along with it to the place where it came from. And since I wouldn't have enough energy, then I wouldn't be able to fight back. "

Shepard had opened her mouth in shock after hearing Naruto saying that he could revive people, but after understanding the risks of this ability, she could only ask. "How do you know this? Did you try to revive someone already?"

She saw Naruto shaking his head. "No, I never did because it would have been in vain in those days. I always knew that using that technique entailed to the user's death, but I never knew why. That was until the first meeting I had with the Shinigami and his warnings about never using that technique."

Shepard nodded, it was an impressive skill, but very dangerous at the same time. She could not imagine anyone reviving other people. Although after thinking for a moment, she could not help laughing slightly because the Illusive Man had done that to her.

She left that aside and decided to ask something else. "So, how many kilograms did the weights have?" She asked as she recalled the moment she fell.

He saw Naruto chuckling and answering. "Around 400 kilograms each. And when you tried to surround yourself with your biotic cloak, I increased them to a ton and a half." Then he laughed due to the disbelief expression on Shepard's face.

"You're crazy!" Shepard exclaimed, now understanding why it had been almost impossible for her to move her wrist.

Naruto stopped laughing and refuted. "I may be. However, I'm warning you now; that was nothing. Your training will increase in intensity for each phase that you surpass. I must strengthen your body so you can be able to withstand the speed that I want you to reach. It will be difficult, but not impossible. Much will depend on your willpower. Oh, and one tip, don't hold back if you feel that you're going to cry. If you feel the need to do it, do it, because I promise you that you won't be able to hold it back in most cases, and it would be useless to try to do it in the easier training. You have to get used to it not to feel embarrassed when you do it later."

 _"Is he serious?"_ She thought as she swallowed some saliva. Shepard was only now feeling intimidated by the kind of training that she would receive, and this made her wonder if she made the right choice of asking Naruto to train her.

She shook the idea away, and in doing so, she saw Naruto doing some hand seals while saying. "Now we'll start with the phase 1.5 of your training." After this, Naruto finished the hand seals and placed his right hand on the floor. _"Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Jutsu)"_

Instantly, a small white cloud appeared which revealed a hen, but she had the purple eyes that Naruto had on Purgatory.

She raised an eyebrow and asked while pointing at the chicken that had begun to cluck. "1.5? _"_

Naruto smiled and answered. "You must catch her..." He paused and saw that Shepard smiled as if she were trying to say that it would be easy, but Naruto continued before she could speak. "But it won't be easy at all. You have to carry some weight..." Upon saying that, Naruto loaded around 20 kilograms on each weight.

Shepard instantly felt heavier, but not as minutes ago. She could handle it, she thought. Although, Shepard concluded it would be harder to catch her. However, she thought of using her biotic charge to catch the fast hen.

Naruto saw Shepard getting ready, and since he sensed that she had in mind to use her biotic powers, he said, "Go ahead, try to catch her," while pointing his hand to the hen that had now begun to peck the floor. Nevertheless, she lifted her head and quickly moved to the sides because Shepard had moved.

The hen's behavior didn't surprise Shepard; she just stepped back and surrounded herself with her biotic cloak to use her charge.

Naruto then saw Shepard moving in slow motion towards the chicken, watching the blue trail that she left behind by every millimeter that she advanced. When he saw her a few centimeters away from the hen, the hen had plunged into the floor and appeared right behind Shepard, who stopped her attack, thinking that she had touched her at least.

But after looking at Naruto, she saw that he was pointing behind her. So she looked down and saw that the chicken was now there, pecking at the floor again, looking for something to eat.

"What happened?" Shepard asked, not knowing how she had placed herself behind her so quickly.

Naruto smiled and quickly answered. "I told you; it won't be easy. It will be much harder to catch her if you use your biotic powers. I exclusively designed her with a self-defense system that reacts to any hostile element that doesn't have the seals that contain the weights on your limbs. And since you become intangible when you use your biotic charge, the seals disable automatically. In other words, you can only catch her by using your arms and legs. For example, try to throw her some of your other attacks. "

Shepard nodded, stepped back and threw some of her attacks, realizing that the hen simply disappeared or faded into the air or plunged into the floor. "Damn…" Shepard said with sweat dripping from her forehead, now understanding that the phase '1.5' would not be as easy as she had thought at the beginning.

Then she looked at Naruto, who continued. "From now on, the hen will follow you wherever you go. She won't give you intimacy problems, but she will be with you in your missions and tours in places like the Citadel." After that, Naruto began taking the robe he wore off.

Shepard said nothing about this, but she did look out of the corner of her eye as he took his clothes off, to put those he had left on the floor on. "I see..." Shepard said.

Then she shook her head and asked. "Why a hen?"

She heard Naruto laughing while putting the black robe on. "Well, the hens are small, but fast. Also, they're always attentive to everything. So they're perfect for this training. I could've used less conventional things, but this is familiar to almost everyone."

Shepard nodded and watched Naruto almost dressed, just the mask was missing. "And that uniform? It's rare to see you getting dressed like an ordinary person and not creating clothes around you."

"Heh." Naruto laughed due to the implication. Then he answered as he put his mask on and took his Ninjato to put it on his back. "It's the uniform of the organization where I was when I was a kid. I remained as a member during my adolescence, but almost no one knew. But when I definitely left, I decided to keep these garments to remember. Do you remember that I told you that I would enter as a ghost in that colony?" He saw Shepard nodding before continuing. "I did that when I was in that organization. I was like a ghost; no one noticed my presence, and when the time came… Bam!" He exclaimed, slamming his right fist into his left palm.

The sound surprised Shepard a bit, but Naruto continued without stopping. "Then I left in the same way from my missions, like a ghost… Well, not only me but almost everybody in the organization."

Shepard nodded again and heard Naruto ask. "And what will you do now?"

Shepard thought for a moment and replied. "The Illusive Man's dossiers mentioned a krogan called Okeer. I'll talk to him and see if he can help us in this mission. I hope everything goes well, you've already seen how the krogans can be by mere nonsense."

Naruto smiled behind his mask, recalling his encounter with the krogan former member of the Blood Pack. Then, he said. "Well, I have to go now, Shepard. I must go to see what's going on in that colony."

Shepard nodded, but before he could retire, she said one last thing. "Naruto, wait… I have a question for you."

Naruto instantly stopped and told her to ask. Shepard nodded and continued. "How did you give feelings to the Reapers? Well, the feeling of fear."

"Hmm..." Naruto said, stopping and raising his mask to reveal his face. Shepard looked into his eyes as he spoke. "It's the same principle of the creation of the bird, Shepard. I have a skill called _Banbutsu Sōzō_ ; in your language, it means 'Creation of All Things.' It's that, basically. I can create anything based on my imagination as I told you before. And at that moment, I thought of giving them that feeling."

Shepard was surprised again. "Wow, I never thought that skill could be used in something like that."

Naruto lowered his mask and continued. "Yes, it could even give life to this ship. Own consciousness, thoughts, a soul. But I don't like playing God. I don't like that title, as I had already told you."

"Could you really do that? Hahaha, Joker would love it." She said as she pictured Joker and the ship going out on a date.

"Ehhm, I can hear you, you know? And just so you know, I don't need my baby to have a life. I'll still love her… Although it wouldn't be bad if you did that." Joker spoke through the intercom, somewhat excited in the end by the idea of having a real conversation with the ship and not just with a 'dumb AI.'

Naruto laughed along with Shepard after hearing him speaking. "Although it would be easier to give EDI a body. Maybe in that way both of them will begin to get along better." Naruto joked, but just then, they heard EDI's voice.

 **"Would you really be able to provide me with a body, Naruto-san? I could provide limited-fire ground support if such is the case; besides, I could accompany the commander to areas the Normandy cannot reach."** She was not excited or anything; she was just saying her perspective.

"Yeah, just so that the Illusive Man controls you to sabotage us once we're no longer useful to him," Joker replied

Shepard thought the same, as she still did not trust EDI due to all the blocks she had.

 **"That would be counterproductive, Jeff Moreau. The Illusive Man would not do something like that with Naruto-san still around."** EDI refuted

They heard Joker laughing and saying. "So, he would if he weren't, huh? Well, too bad, because that won't happen. How does it feel to be on the losing side?" He asked as he laughed again.

It seemed that EDI intended to add something else, but Naruto decided to interrupt the conversation. "Um, sorry, EDI. It was a joke, hehe." He replied with a nervous smile as he waved his hand toward the ceiling.

It was a lie, but he also thought the same. He did not want to give EDI a body so that the Illusive Man ended up controlling it from his burrow, as Joker said. That man was someone brilliant, and even if he had marked him, he still couldn't be sure if that would be enough to stop him in making his moves in the future.

EDI could not detect lies in his words since Naruto had the mask on. Therefore, she did not speak again but continued the debate with Joker, who turned the intercom off.

When he heard nothing more from EDI, he stopped shaking hands and looked at Shepard. "Well, I think that would be all. I'll investigate what's happening in that colony. Once I'm there and have a defined scenario, I'll send a clone to inform you of the situation. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must withdraw." Naruto said but stopped adding something else. "Oh, I almost forgot. Remember that you now have the weights. You can take them off whenever you want, but I recommend you not to do it, not even when you sleep. You will progress faster this way. By the way, I'll give you more instructions once I send my clone… And please, be respectful to her." He said, subtly looking at the hen.

Shepard raised an eyebrow at Naruto's request, but she nodded and said. "Okay, I will. See you around." Naruto nodded and used his Kamui to arrive in an instant to the place the Illusive Man had shown him.

Once the hangar was empty, she looked at the floor and saw that the hen was still walking around in search for something to eat.

Shepard stared at her, cracked several bones of her body and made a few warm up jumps. "Here we go…" She looked at the hen one last time and ran toward her.

Obviously, her speed was not the desired one, due to the 20 extra kilograms that she carried at each extremity, making it impossible for her to catch the fast hen that had run in the opposite direction.

Shepard did not give up, and in the next fifteen minutes, she continued the race in an attempt to catch her. Nevertheless, all her efforts were in vain, and when she felt that her breath had run out, she had stopped and had bent down as she placed both hands on her knees and began to breathe slowly to recover the lost breath. _"Whew, this will be harder than I thought_." Then she looked at the chicken, who seemed to be staring at her with scorn.

Tilting her head toward her, she carefully looked at her between gasps, a bit puzzled by the expression on the hen's face. However, what happened next shocked her. **"*Cluck-Cluck* Are you giving up already? I don't know why Naruto-sama requested the services of the great _Mendori-sama (Ms. Hen)_ "**

Shepard instantly stood up correctly and pointed to the chattering hen. "You talked! But I didn't understand what you said…" This time, she took her fingers on her chin, trying to decipher what the hen had said, but it would have been meaningless. After all, she realized that the hen was speaking in Japanese and Shepard did not see the need of configuring her Omni-tool to detect and translate that language automatically. After all, Naruto had begun to speak in English without any problems.

The hen wildly cackled while waving her wings and said she could not accept such disrespect. Obviously, Shepard didn't understand a thing, but then she saw that the chicken breathed slowly and now spoke in a language understandable to her. **"*Cluck-Cluck* I've had enough of your ignorance, human. From now on, I warn you that catching me won't be easy, and you could even get hurt. Now get ready and move on."**

Shepard sighed and answered. "It'll be another time. Now I must get ready for another mission; I'll try it there. Oh, and don't believe that I'm afraid of a silly hen like you."

This time, the hen began to cluck with more forces, but this time with anger. In addition, she was running in circles, which only make Shepard believe she was indeed a silly hen.

Nevertheless, the hen stopped and looked with a defiant expression to Shepard before running towards her. Shepard didn't even move, just smiled and chuckled.

However, the smile faded from her face when she saw her disappearing from her sight and reappearing almost instantly a few millimeters away from her stomach.

Shepard could not even move a muscle, and the hen when reaching her belly; she drove her back. Shepard when feeling the tremendous blow of the little animal, spat out a significant amount of saliva.

The hen, meanwhile, continued pushing her back, until she hit hard against the wall, which made her fall in the same way to the floor.

Shepard after feeling that the attack was over, she breathed to recover the air that the blow had extracted from her lungs while she coughed.

The hen, seeing Shepard's condition, walked up to her head and began pecking it. **"*Cluck-Cluck* for your insolence. *Cluck–Cluck*"** Then she stopped the pecking, hearing Shepard saying between coughs that she was sorry.

The hen, satisfied with the apology, nodded and vanished from that place; waiting until Shepard tried to catch her again.

 _"Damn… *cough* Humiliated by a hen *cough*"_ Shepard thought with embarrassment as she rubbed her aching stomach. Although It was not a reason to be ashamed, Naruto created it, after all.

After that, she slowly got up, hearing EDI's voice asking. **"Do you require medical assistance, Commander? I can send Dr. Chakwas in that case."**

"N-no, it's not necessary," She replied, getting to her feet and shaking the dust off her clothes though groaning with some pain because the blow had left a bruise on her stomach.

She sighed and went to rest in her cabin; the energies that Naruto had given her had vanished after the hen's blow. For this reason, she had decided to pause the mission to visit Okeer, and do it when she felt better.

Although before she went there, she first addressed the infirmary for a checkup, omitting that a hen had caused her injuries. Once treated, she left there and went straight up to her cabin to lie down in the bed and sleep.

With Naruto – Fehl Prime

It was already past midnight on the planet where Naruto had arrived with his Kamui. The place was an old pharmaceutical factory that was abandoned due to a certain attack that involved several members of the Blood Pack and the Alliance a few years ago, which forced the factory to settle down elsewhere.

Once Naruto was there, he looked sideways and thought. _"Well, I'm here."_ After that, he looked to the North, direction where he could feel the presence of living beings, mostly humans.

 **"Then go there and investigate what's going on. You could use a Henge to go unnoticed…"** Kurama advised.

 _"Hmm, good idea. But for now, I'll keep myself to the shadows. I must first observe the colonists and then the man that is supposedly indoctrinated,"_ After that Naruto just disappeared from there. He arrived in an instant at the colony's location that now had a protective barrier that the Alliance had upgraded after the Blood Pack had tried to kill everybody in the colony _._

Naturally, Naruto had passed through the barrier smoothly and undetected. Consequently, after being inside, he had addressed to the tallest building in the place and waited for dawn, to observe the colonists and start his mission.

* * *

**Notes:**

**Again, another chapter completed.**

**I have to clarify a few things.**

**Well, as you read it, now you know why Naruto wants Shepard** **to** **train** **him. And in this chapter, we saw him trying, and things went wrong, which caused him to lose his temper and almost ended up killing all those who were in Purgatory (I'm exaggerating, but you get the point)**

**Shepard also began training, and the hen will give her problems until she can catch her. I was inspired by certain moments of Dragon Ball Z, when Goku is training with Kaio and by the film 'Beverly Hills Ninja', those who watched it will surely remember Chris Rock chasing a chicken around the hotel as part of his training to become a ninja, XD.**

**Regarding the assigned mission by the Illusive Man, I recommend that you watch the animated movie of Mass Effect called "Mass Effect: Lost Paragon," if you watch it, you'll understand the matter.**

**In the next chapter, I will explain in detail why I'm writing on this.**

**Oh, and about Naruto not wanting to help anybody, this is just because the Reapers don't arrive yet. He doesn't wish to do anything flashy due to the reasons he gave.**

**Regarding the missions that Shepard is currently having, I will just say that I don't want Naruto interfering much with this kind of missions. As you know, the guy is almost a god (he just needs to meet with the other gods to make it formal), and therefore, I'm trying to put him away from the normal missions.**

**Obviously, it's not as if he won't be in any of the missions, but I'll make his interventions minimal. He has another role right now; I think you can guess what it is.**

**About Reapers having the feeling of fear, I did it for a reason that I will explain later. (In early the events of ME3) For now, you'll have to wait.**

**By the way, do you think I'm rushing things? Do you think I should go slower and make Naruto socialize more with other crew members? What do you say? Leave your answers in the comments.**

**Oh, and Miranda wants to have a private conversation with Naruto, will anything happen? Will Jack call Naruto a Catman again? Find out in the following chapters! :P**

**P.S.: I may be needing a new beta reader. Please, send your PM's! U.U**

**Greetings and see you the next chapter.**


	9. Chapter 8

Organic being, talking. "Hello"

Organic being, thinking. _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking. **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking. **_"Sure"_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

* * *

  **Chapter 8**

A few hours later - Normandy

A few hours have passed since the moment Naruto had left the Normandy to go to Fehl Prime. It was like 4 in the morning, and Shepard was ignorant of it.

She was in her bed, resting to replenish the energies that 'Mendori-sama' had taken away with that tremendous blow. She lay there, trying to ignore the discomfort of the training weights while slowly getting used to them and drifting off to sleep.

However, to her chagrin, she had felt in dreams that someone was whispering her name as he touched her shoulder gently. With annoyance, she slowly opened her heavy and tired eyes. "Shepard. Hey, wake up, Shepard. It's time for your training."

She instantly recognized Naruto's voice, but she didn't want to pay him attention, and with a sound of annoyance, she turned and completely covered herself with her blanket. "Leave me alone; I'm still sleepy." She spoke and closed her eyes.

However, she felt a strong pull that took her blanket away and immediately felt a great stream of nearly freezing water falling on her. Yelling due to the cold, Shepard got up from her bed, watching Naruto with one of those strange hand poses and smiling slightly at her.

"Y-You're crazy!" Shepard exclaimed, stammering due to the cold.

Naruto smiled, but then his expression changed to a more serious one and shouted. "Silence! I want five hundred pushups right now!"

Shepard blinked a few times, thinking he was crazy. "You must be kidding, that amount..." but she couldn't finish as she felt that her body weight increased considerably, which made her fall to the floor.

"I didn't give you permission to speak, Genin! I want my five hundred pushups now!" He exclaimed again with that expression that seemed straight out of a military movie. Naruto, meanwhile, was smiling amusingly inside.

Shepard groaned for several reasons. First due to the way he had woke her up, and secondly due to how bossy Naruto sounded — that reminded her of some of her instructors from N-School— and thirdly due to her current weight, though it wasn't even close to what it had been hours earlier.

Thus, very slowly, she folded her arms, stretched her legs out and placed both wet palms on the floor. Very heavily and slowly, she stretched her folded arms, taking her up to the required height. "O-One..." she said before falling due to her own weight.

Sighing wearily, she prepared herself to do the next one. But much to her dismay, Naruto stood in front of her to exclaim again, "You call that a pushup?! Even an armless child could do it better!"

"A child like you, surely." She declared, disagreeing with the words of Naruto, who, for his part, felt cornered. "Uhm, uh. Well, you do have a point there."

"I-I knew it. No one can make that amount of push-ups in a row." She added, now enjoying the comfort that the floor gave her.

She closed her eyes slightly, ready to recover more energy, but she quickly sank back into her dreams.

However, before she could do it completely, Naruto's voice stopped her. "The amount isn't impossible, but I think I went a bit too far with the weight of your wrist guards. Now ... OPEN YOUR EYES AND GIVE ME THOSE FIVE HUNDRED PUSH-UPS!" This time he had yelled almost in her ear, and Shepard, unable to hide her surprise, began to make quick pushups due to inertia.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction and waited until the moment Shepard reached her limit to give her another 'nice' surprise.

Three hours later - In the dining room

Tired, shattered, completely mangled. Those were some of the few sensations that Shepard could describe after the intense training that Naruto's clone had given her.

As the clone had guessed, Shepard had failed to reach the five hundred pushups. Therefore, he had told her to do five hundred sit-ups, which she had also failed. This routine continued for hours, and in each of them, Shepard was taken to her limit.

But to no avail, since there was no way that she could accomplish those exercises with her current capacity, and Naruto knew that very well, but he was confident that it wouldn't take long before she met his expectations.

As for the clone, the original had sent him while he continued his affairs in Fehl Prime, which would take some time since he didn't want to draw the attention of the colonists, much less the Collectors and therefore the Reapers.

Regardless, when the clone had concluded that Shepard had had enough, he had offered to get her breakfast.

She accepted without thinking because she felt hungry after the arduous training, although she had almost told Naruto to pick her up.

However, Naruto, knowing the state in which she would be, saved her the shame and did it without her asking it. Shepard didn't deny the aid help leaned on the back of Naruto when he knelt so that she could get up.

Upon reaching the third deck, Naruto sat Shepard at the head of the table, before leaving to fetch her meal. Behind him, Shepard slumped to the table as she tried to regain some energy.

For this, the clone approached Gardner, the only person in the room because he was preparing breakfast for the arrival of the crew.

Their expressions changed as their eyes met, neither wanting to be the first to break their gaze. Meanwhile, the first to approach the dining room was Garrus, who sighed because he sensed that both would fight over food again.

He decided to ignore them and walked to the table. There he could see a very unkempt Commander Shepard, who could hear a chair at her side moving and a person sitting in it.

Suspecting it was Naruto, she made a sign as she raised her head and opened her mouth with closed eyes. "Food ... Hungry ..." she said, lacking the energy to open her eyes, much less eat on her own.

Garrus instantly chuckled, which made Shepard realize that she had guessed wrong. Therefore, blushing slightly because of it, she opened her eyes and spoke. "Garrus ... I thought you were Naruto."

Garrus laughed again and this time spoke. "Yes, I thought so. I don't think there's anyone else you would have the confidence to ask to feed you."

Again, Shepard felt embarrassed due to Garrus' deduction. He was a person who could read others very quickly, after all.

However, she decided to add. "Don't get so sad, Garrus. I would ask you too, of course, if I didn't have both arms."

They both laughed, and then Garrus asked out of curiosity. "And what did happen? You weren't like this yesterday, and you didn't do any mission if I recall correctly."

Shepard felt nauseous as she remembered the reason for her fatigue, but she decided to answer with a single word. "Naruto..." Then, Shepard released a moan because she felt a pulse running through her entire body.

Garrus when hearing that and seeing her reaction, he couldn't avoid misinterpreting things and open his eyes a little bit. "Wow, I didn't think you guys would go that far. I guess, congratulations."

Then he turned slightly and looked at Naruto, who had casually looked at them. Therefore, Garrus gave him a thumbs up, which Naruto didn't understand why. However, he responded with a smile and a sign of victory.

Shepard, at first, didn't understand what Garrus was implying, but after raising her head and seeing the signs that both individuals were sending at each other, she quickly decided to correct Garrus before a rumor could spread like a plague through the ship, "No! You've totally misunderstood it," she said, shaking her hands in front of Garrus, who saw it from the corner of his eyes.

He turned around and heard Shepard continuing. "We were training. TRAI-NING." She syllabicated at the end, to avoid any more confusion.

Garrus then understood it but decided to keep bothering Shepard. "Some people call it differently, but if you want to call it training, who am I to say no?"

Her palm landed on her forehead as she shook her head, but before she could say he was wrong again, another person had joined the dining room. "What's going on here?"

They turned their heads, just to see Zaeed taking a seat next to Garrus, who without wasting time, whispered a few words in his ear.

Shepard stared with narrowed eyes, seeing the first signs of the plague, threatening to infect the entire ship, and who knows? Even the whole Galaxy (although this was somewhat exaggerated).

Zaeed, realizing the situation, decided to join Garrus; one never ran into good opportunities to annoy someone like Shepard, and he was bored and wanted to clear his mind a bit. "That guy amazes me every day. And how was it, Shepard? Did he do it as a loving teenager or as a fully-fledged mercenary?"

 _"Oh my god!"_ Shepard thought, starting to get a headache, even more after hearing someone exclaiming. "Commander! Don't tell me you seriously took my suggestion to marry the guy with the whisker marks?"

Garrus and Zaeed turned their heads, seeing Kasumi turning visible after saying those words. She had also heard what both had said, but like the others, she also wanted to join the game.

Shepard, with much effort, got to her feet, and with the little strength she had left, she hit the table. "Enough. Naruto and I didn't have sex." She ground out with a stern expression, which made the others mentally smile at seeing her losing patience so quickly.

"Why did you say that?" They heard a familiar voice, so they turned and saw Naruto accompanied by some clones — an ability that no longer surprised those present — bringing breakfast to the table.

The 'culprits' instantly looked away, pretending not to understand.

Shepard, seeing herself cornered, only leaned back, falling heavily on her seat, "Enough, I don't want to talk about it; just bring the food," she ordered; the fatigue and the prank of her team had put her in a bad mood.

Naruto and his clones shrugged and put the food on the table. Kasumi sat next to Zaeed, just to receive a tray from one of the Naruto clones.

Once everyone had their food, Naruto sat in front of the others, right next to Shepard. It caught their attention that he was the only one who didn't have anything to eat, which incommoded some of them.

Not Zaeed, who had no trouble asking. "And why aren't you eating?" He asked as he shoved some pancakes in his mouth.

Naruto, who had been frowning for quite some time, replied. "The Cook has a problem with me."

"Food..." Garrus added, eating his special food for turians. The others didn't know the reason for the fight, but Garrus did because he was very close to the kitchen and sometimes he could hear both of them arguing.

"Exactly. And I don't understand why; he has never cooked anything I asked him." He finished, crossing his arms.

Kasumi, lowering her glass of juice, added. "I believe that the amount of bowls of Ramen that you ate at the Citadel have something to do with it. He probably thinks that you'll end up eating all his reserves if he prepares something for you. Besides, I remember hearing from someone that you gave him an impressive amount of supplies to make food just for you. "

Naruto after hearing those words had a revelation. However, he dismissed it. "No. I think he just doesn't like me." He replied, crossing his arms again.

"If I were you, I'd make him understand the difference between a real soldier and a simple Cook," Zaeed added, tucking another pancake into his mouth.

Kasumi giggled and talked. "If you were him, you would probably attempt to dominate the galaxy or something like that."

"Of course. Although I would primarily make Vido suffer in unimaginable ways." Zaeed answered, without fear of saying what he would do with Naruto's powers.

Zaeed turned his head to Kasumi and continued. "Though you wouldn't be any different. You would probably steal everything in your way."

Kasumi giggled again. "You flatter me; you seem to know me very well... What about you? What would you do?" She asked looking at Garrus, who instantly took his fingers on his chin.

"Hmm, I don't know. I would probably try to help, something similar to what Naruto is doing, but on a smaller scale. I'd take care to do a thorough cleansing of the unwanted ones."

"Boring…" Kasumi and Zaeed simultaneously said.

"Not so much, it's a noble thing," Naruto added, joining the conversation, causing them to repeat themselves.

Garrus didn't bother because he wasn't ashamed of saying it or having people know. It was his nature.

"By the way, what would you do, Shepard?" Naruto asked, now looking at her.

Shepard, who was chewing with a scowl, swallowed, turned her head and looked into his eyes. "I'd give you a beating," then continued eating.

Naruto nervously scratched his head, while the others smiled and Kasumi asked out of curiosity. "Seriously, why are you so unkempt? We were just playing with you earlier, but what actually happened?"

Shepard felt nauseous again, but not enough to ruin her breakfast. Regardless, Naruto replied. "Well, I made her do some workout routines. Around five hundred repetitions of each of them, but since she couldn't complete them, I kept ordering her to do other routines. Then I forced her to run for over six hours straight."

The three of them opened their eyes in shock, and only now they could understand why Shepard was in such a mood. "That sounds intense, but I thought that your N7 tests lasted more than 20 hours straight. Are you out of shape, Shepard?" Garrus asked.

Shepard sighed exasperatedly. "Yeah, try to do workouts with thirty kilos of weight on each limb, before running in the same way without stopping at a place where the temperature is above forty degrees Celsius and where you seem to be at a height of four thousand meters, so the air hardly gets to your lungs. Yes, Garrus, I'm out of shape." She finished, tilting her head and staring at the vigilante with disbelief.

Garrus excused himself instinctively. "I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to offend you."

Shepard, noticing her behavior, sighed and apologized. "No, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm too tired; I can barely keep my eyes open. I think we won't do anything today..." Then she tried to get up with difficulty, but she couldn't due to the fatigue and because Naruto grabbed one of her hands.

"Wait, Shepard."

Shepard saw Naruto's hand shining, feeling what she had felt the night before when Naruto healed her shattered wrist. She felt revitalized almost instantly, with enough energy to do anything. Naruto, realizing this, pulled his hand away and continued, "The boss already told you yesterday, Shepard. You don't have to worry about wasting your energy when training."

Shepard, clenching her fists and stretching her arms slightly, could swear she felt stronger right now. Surprisingly, it even repaired her muscles and gave them the rest they needed.

Then she looked at Naruto and spoke. "You could have done this from the beginning," she said smiling, for the simple reason that she just liked that feeling in her body after Naruto transferred his vital energy; it was so relaxing that she couldn't help it.

The others watched with confusion, because until a few moments ago, Shepard seemed to have one foot in her grave. But now she looked like a child with enough energy to annoy her parents an entire day at the amusement park, although they assumed that the brightness of his hands had something to do with it.

Naruto chuckled and replied. "Well, I wanted your body to experience the feeling of working hard for a while. I'm not saying you haven't done it before, but I wanted you to have a slight idea of the Shinobi training."

"I see. Well, I'm going to prepare myself. Zaeed and Garrus, get ready, we're going to talk to a krogan. Perhaps your faces will scare him enough so that he doesn't try to be a problem." She joked at the end.

Neither of them took it the wrong way, they only chuckled, but Kasumi said. "If you want to intimidate him, why don't you take Naruto? I'm sure that one of his techniques would be more than enough to do it."

Naruto turned his head toward Shepard, who spoke before he could say something about it. "Because Naruto isn't imposing at first glance. Moreover, some people come to confuse him..." She replied, referring to the times when people compared him to a 'kitten.'

Naruto released a sigh while the others smiled slightly. Zaeed, however, added. "You're right. That day when he said that it wasn't necessary to hurt the batarian, I was about to punch him in the face. But when I looked at him... Let's say that I concluded that it wouldn't be wise."

"A wise decision." They heard the voice of someone approaching from the infirmary. They looked there and saw the Doctor Chakwas wandering to take a seat next to Naruto, who greeted her with a smile, and she responded in the same way.

The others also greeted her, and she continued. "Well, I can see that you're about to leave. But never mind, I will share the table with the rest of the crew. They will arrive at any time."

Shepard thanked her for understanding and rose from the table as the other two were going to the next mission. Regardless, Naruto, to not be rude, moved at high speed and brought two breakfast trays. He gave one to an impressed doctor, who swore that the tray had just appeared there, and the one remained in his hands.

"There's your breakfast, Doctor. I hope you enjoy it." The clone spoke, bowing his head slightly.

Kasumi, not understanding what had happened, asked. "Wait, was that your ability to create things out of nothing? I heard something about it."

Shepard thought it was, but Naruto contradicted. "No, I just brought two trays from the counter. I suck at creating cooked food, for the simple reason that I have no knowledge of how to do it. I can't even cook with that ability... Maybe I should take some classes." He said the latter reflecting to himself.

"I could teach you." Kasumi offered, "I'm a good cook. Well, my mother instructed me very well in it to 'please' my husband when I found one. Too bad, her daughter became a kleptomaniac, but the food is never a problem when I'm on my missions. "

"Really? Will you show me?" Naruto asked, appearing beside her, which again surprised those present. "Y-Yes, but only if you and the commander manage to complete the favor I asked of you." She added, a little scared at first after seeing him appearing so suddenly.

Naruto left the tray on the table, stood firmly and made the typical military salute. "Yes, ma'am!"

Shepard smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm; it made her happy to see him that way. She wasn't bothered by Kasumi's offer because she didn't feel any malicious intentions from any of them. Besides, something made her think that Kasumi was in love with someone else. But hey, it was just a feeling.

Naruto grabbed the tray again, and when he was about to say something else, he heard Gardner's voice exclaiming. "Hey! You could, at least, ask for my permission before taking food from my station!" He had finally realized; it was natural that he wouldn't because Naruto's speed and the distance between the dining table and his position.

Then Naruto turned his head and crinkled his face. "I just took two trays! And none of them are for me, so don't get angry! And soorryyy! I won't do it again!" He spoke with annoyance at the end.

"That's better; I don't like when people touch my station materials without my permission," the Cook added before proceeding to prepare breakfast for the rest of the crew.

With a sigh, Naruto turned and heard Shepard asking. "If it isn't for you, then for whom?"

"For the woman you recruited yesterday. I'm going to introduce myself." He replied, and without waiting for an answer, he immersed himself in the floor towards the engineering basement.

With eyes wide open, Kasumi spoke. "What I wouldn't give for a skill like that ... There wouldn't be any vault safe in the galaxy. I should ask him to be my partner once we finish this 'suicide mission.'" She thought aloud, and this last comment bothered Shepard a little bit.

"Well, it won't happen, Naruto will stay here." She added, unable to contain her opinion.

"Oh? Jealous, Commander?" She asked with amusement.

Shepard instantly turned around. "Of course not, I'm just telling you what will happen. Naruto will stay here until we defeat the Reapers, he said it himself. I'm only telling you, so you don't get your hopes up," she stated and then walked to her cabin.

"That woman is indeed crazy over that man," Zaeed affirmed, standing up from his seat before going to get ready in his room.

"You read my mind," Garrus added, doing the same.

Kasumi did it too, saying goodbye to the doctor while the other crew members gathered at the table for breakfast. She had nothing to do but had a desire to find out more about the relationship between Naruto and the Commander. But at the moment, she didn't feel like it; she would wait a little longer before analyzing them both.

Perhaps the upcoming mission would be a perfect starting point; now she simply had to wait for that day.

Meanwhile, Naruto continued descending. He didn't see the engineers because both had gone to breakfast before beginning their duties.

Therefore, he wasted no time and silently approached where Jack, who was lying on her bed and quietly reading the data she had obtained about Cerberus.

However, her surprise had been great at the sight of a silhouette descending just above her. She instinctively grabbed the gun hidden under her pillow and shot a few times at the strange silhouette, which seemed to be a hologram as her bullets went through it as if it weren't there.

Naruto, realizing that he had disturbed the 'resident,' descended rapidly and stood right next to her bed. "Sorry for bothering you, but I brought breakfast." He spoke apologetically.

"What the hell?! Cat Man?! How the hell did you do that?" She exclaimed turning to him; the surprise was great, after all.

Naruto almost dropped the tray when he heard Jack's nickname for him, but he avoided it nimbly, making Jack look at him in disbelief due to the surreal way in which he had moved.

"Please, don't call me that. My name is Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki," he corrected with a visible eyebrow tic.

"Whatever... Explain yourself, now." Jack ordered, dismissing his order.

Sighing, Naruto put the tray on the table beside her bed. "What's your problem?" he asked, now crossing his arms.

"That none of your business. I've asked you a question, and I want the answer," she spoke in a dismissive tone again.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, not with annoyance, but because he sensed — after analyzing her facial expressions — the reason for her behavior.

He could confirm it by accessing her mind, but he had learned to respect the privacy of others thanks to Shepard. "I think I understand it..." Naruto spoke.

"What do you understand?" Jack asked.

"You don't trust me... No, you don't trust anyone on this ship. Maybe Shepard, but I don't know. The reason? I don't know that either, but that glow in your eyes... I know that very well. The eyes of suspicion, mistrust, hatred and bitterness. I know them very well, and that lets me guess the reason for your attitude. Am I wrong?" He earnestly asked.

Although she wouldn't admit it, Jack was surprised at how easily he had seen through her; it wasn't something that people could achieve because she had excellent defenses against it, but this person before her had demolished them with great ease.

Hiding her surprise, she snorted. "And what are you, a kind of psychologist with super powers?"

Naruto chuckled and sarcastically spoke. "Yes, I even have X-ray vision; now I see you almost naked." He had said that because her clothes left little to the imagination.

With a snort, Jack replied, "Well, I'd rather dress like this than a ridiculous outfit like yours."

Naruto almost fell backward. "Why do people keep saying that? My suit represents the title I've earned, of a sage..." He said opening both hands and pointing them toward his body.

Jack laughed mockingly and continued, "Sage? Hahaha, you must be kidding, you can't be more than 26 years old."

Naruto chuckled, "I have more years than you could count before getting tired."

Jack released a similar laugh, thinking that he was again speaking sarcastically again. Therefore, she didn't pay much attention to that statement and continued. "Anyway, now tell me, how the hell did you get through the roof of the ship as if it were nothing? I even saw you floating, and there was no sign that you were using biotics. So, who the hell are you?"

"First of all, eat your breakfast. It'll get cold," he spoke as he grabbed the tray and handed it to Jack, who reluctantly grabbed it and placed it on her lap as she watched Naruto, waiting for his explanation.

While carrying the food to her mouth, Naruto briefly explained his place of origin, the reason for being in the Normandy, and what Jack had been waiting to hear, the explanation of his abilities.

Curiously, Jack remained silent throughout the story. However, Naruto could see that smiles of disbelief crossed her face at times.

Once Naruto finished his story, he saw that Jack had placed the tray on the nightstand before lying back on her bed and grabbing the tablet that contained the data of Cerberus. "Hey, Cat Man. If you didn't want to tell me, you should have just shut your mouth rather than making up that fantasy story. But hey, I'll give you something, they were entertaining stories. You would earn good money in some bars on Omega, with magic performances included. You would be quite the attraction."

Even though Naruto knew she was joking, he contemplated the idea. "Hmm, maybe. I should ask Aria to help me out. Although I don't know, I would call too much attention." He thought with his fingers on his chin.

At the mention of that name, Jack pulled the tablet away from her face and turned her head slightly toward him. "Do you know Aria?"

"Yes, I visit her occasionally. Although for some strange reason, the boss doesn't want to, just us."

"Boss? Ah, the Illusive Man." She added, speaking with contempt at the end.

"Of course not. My boss is the original. I'm a simple clone," corrected the clone, to avoid misunderstandings.

"A clone? Did Shepard agree to put a clone aboard this ship? I heard that the clones were dangerous because of their lack of identity," she said with narrowed eyes.

The clone smiled slightly and replied. "While the clones that the boss usually creates have their own personality, even then we are bounded to him, and we can't do anything that could harm him. So we're not a danger, and in the unlikely that we could, he could simply make us disappear by just thinking it. "

Jack looked at him with a look of "What the hell?" having no idea what he was talking about. "You're out of your mind," she declared, thinking she was talking to a madman.

The clone sighed and turned his head to the right, making a puff of smoke appear at the moment, and seconds later, a perfect clone of himself.

"Damn!" Jack exclaimed in shock, not believing what she was seeing.

She approached slowly and touched the new clone, noticing that it was solid and not just a hologram or some kind of trick of the light. "Are you really a ninja? Hell, I thought you were making it all up," she expressed, now moving away a little.

Naruto nodded slightly, so she said. "Hmm, interesting. This mission may be fun after all."

"Oh? Did you believe me already? Won't you ask me for more tests?" This time, he asked with interest.

Jack shrugged. "No one can create clones of themselves like that. So your story fits. I'm not a person who denies the facts once I have them in front of me."

"I see. People usually tend to be more skeptical. But it's good to know that you've believed me, it would have been problematic if you saw my skills on a mission and lost focus from it," then he looked at his clone and made it disappear.

It was then when Jack understood what he meant by 'make us disappear at any time.' "Hey, Naruto, right?"

"Yeah?" The clone asked, watching Jack sighing. "I think I misjudged you. You're not one of those lackeys of Cerberus, like the cheerleader. When I boarded a Cerberus ship, I thought that everyone would be members of that organization. However, I can see that I was wrong. So I owe an apology for my attitude earlier. "

Naruto smiled widely and answered. "Of course. Some of them have joined only for the Commander; give the crew a chance."

Jack nodded, but there was something that pissed her off. "But get that stupid grin off your face. It's not like we're friends or anything, I just said that I misjudged you. Don't read any more into it."

"Sorry, sorry." He apologized scratching his head, "I think I should go now. See you later, or in some mission if Shepard wants to. Well, goodbye." With that said, he turned around and almost floated away to Miranda's room to talk to her, when Jack's voice stopped him. "Hey, wait a minute. I have a favor to ask you."

Naruto said he would gladly listen. Therefore, Jack looked at him with seriousness. "Wanna fuck?"

Choking on his own saliva and coughing because of this, Naruto mouthed the words with difficulty. "Why do you ask that so suddenly? It's not like I don't want to, but why?"

Jack smiled at his behavior and spoke with extreme sweetness and sarcasm. "Oooh, what happened? Does the old man has been so much time without having sex that he blushes at the first mention of it?"

Naruto instantly changed his expression. "Please, I? Blushing? Do you want me to teach you what blushing really is?" He challenged, stepping forward.

**Lemon**

**"Show her, boy."** Kurama encouraged, quite attentive to the development of the conversation.

Jack got up from her bed and stood in front of Naruto, only now realizing how tall Naruto was.

Not paying much attention to it, she answered the challenge. "And what will you do? Will you teach me your techniques from a hundred thousand years ago when you didn't even know the right place to put it?"

Naruto, with a vein marked on his forehead, stared into her eyes and spoke in a threatening tone. "You've played with fire, now..., get burnt," consequently, and before Jack could react, Naruto moved his right hand and held her arm firmly.

At that moment, Jack had felt a strange and pleasant sensation. It was as if an electric current had run throughout her body, stimulating every fiber of her being, filling her with an uncontrollable desire for lust.

Feeling her knees weak and her pupils almost behind her head, she felt Naruto pushing her hard on the bed. "You won't be needing this," he almost roared, tearing the pants off of Jack in a trance.

However, she went out of her trance when she felt something rubbing against her intimacy. She glanced there and saw the virile member of Naruto in all its glory, "This is what you wanted, right? Well, here you have it!" Then he abruptly introduced the entire length of his member.

Inevitably, Jack arched back as she placed her legs around Naruto's waist to draw him closer as she released her first and quick orgasm.

"Oooh, shit!" She exclaimed, now putting her hands on the sculpted back of Naruto — who had undressed in an instant — to scratch it, but it didn't have much effect due to the incredible toughness of his body.

But such detail wasn't important because Jack could only think of the pleasure as she received the constant thrusts of Naruto, _"W-What the f-fuck is this? I-I can't even talk. Shit, again."_ She thought, gritting her teeth and closing her eyes tightly because she had reached another orgasm.

She screamed as never before, releasing her orgasm along with those words that for some inexplicable reason she couldn't say, "Fuck! Keep it up! You damn cat geezer!"

Any control that Jack had intended have, had faded away just when the sexual encounter had initiated. Now she was completely at the mercy of the immortal blonde, who continued his powerful thrusts until releasing his load inside.

For the sixth consecutive time, Jack arched back, and her eyes rolled completely while a bit of drool escaped from the corner of her lips.

Seeing her expression of ecstasy, Naruto smiled and pushed his hips slightly back, only to push it forward moments later, "Fuck!" She exclaimed when feeling the thrust.

"Now ... What were you saying?" the clone asked with a grin.

Jack didn't even pay attention to it and replied with a sigh, "Hell, you told me you didn't like that people call you a god, but you're the god of sex."

Naruto chuckled and, this time, he completely pulled out his member, causing Jack to groan with displeasure. But hey, it wasn't as if they could be connected forever.

"I just have a lot of experience. Also, I've been polishing my skills with a few asari." He lay on the bed next to Jack, who turned her head slightly toward him while wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Well? Will you now tell me why you wanted to have sex with me?"

Taking advantage of Naruto's position, Jack stood up and headed toward his crotch. Once there, she slowly sat down while holding Naruto's member firmly; he said nothing and just watched Jack sitting down with closed eyes and biting her lower lip.

Naruto also closed his eyes while enjoying the feeling of Jack's insides, and she slowly went up and down as she placed her hands on his pecs. "You should know that better than anyone," she moaned between words.

"What should I know?" the clone mentioned, now placing his hands on Jack's buttocks to help her.

Moaning while increasing the speed of her movement, Jack explained. "I don't know how long I've been locked up in that stupid prison. It was natural I'd want to do it after so long, as I'm sure you also wanted it after leaving your planet."

Naruto smiled at her deduction but didn't speak because she continued. "And why you? First, I had thought to ask Shepard, but I don't like that sort of thing. And since you showed me that you're not a Cerberus' puppet, I seized the moment."

"You should have said that from the beginning; I understand very well that feeling of frustration... Now." He paused for a moment and looked at Jack with a grin. "What do you say if we increase the level?"

Not understanding what he meant, Jack looked down and opened her mouth to speak, but before she could utter a word, she felt two new pairs of hands holding her 'cheeks.'

She instantly turned her head and spotted there another 'Naruto', who was smiling in the same way as the one bellow. "Now the second level starts..."

Jack just smiled and enjoyed the rest of the encounter.

Meanwhile - Planet Korlus

After going through a contingent of Blue Sun soldiers plus furious krogans, Shepard, and her squad entered the room where Okeer stood.

There, the radical militant and the Commander engaged in a conversation about his potential participation in the 'suicide mission.' Okeer mentioned that he was immersed in an investigation, in the key to his 'legacy.'

Specifically, a pure krogan, who was in a tank of the room. Shepard said she could use a soldier like that on her team, but Okeer flatly refused. However, he stated that they could reach an agreement in exchange for a ride off the planet.

However, negotiations stopped because, Jedore, the current commander of the Blue Suns, had called "blank slate" on the project. Therefore, her subordinates released toxic gasses in the rooms of the cloning facility.

Okeer, not wanting to lose the fruit of his labor, asked Shepard to take care of that problem. She had no problems and soon managed to stop the spreading of the gas, while taking out Jedore and the rest of her acolytes.

They went to Okeer's room again, but upon arrival, a recording of him greeted them. It said that he had no idea what the Collectors wanted, but he also thanked her for giving him enough time to save his prototype in time, his legacy.

And now they were there, looking at the tank that contained a krogan that looked so different from those that Shepard had seen so far in her life. Shepard didn't know how a 'pure' krogan would be, but something, besides the continuous remarks of Okeer, made her believe that this krogan was one.

However, she stopped paying attention to his physical appearance when she heard Garrus saying. "Why would someone so fanatical sacrifice himself for one krogan?"

Shepard turned her head toward him, listening Zaeed continuing. "A bullet in his brain would save us a lot of headaches." He suggested as a course of action to avoid the trouble of carrying a highly dangerous species aboard the Normandy.

Shepard, on the other hand, shook her head. "A 'pure' krogan could pack a hell of a punch. We can always use another heavy hitter."

"If he'll help. I doubt anyone's asked for his opinion." Garrus added instantly.

"That we'll find out ..." Shepard replied, now moving her hand to her helmet communicator. "Normandy? Okeer is a no-go. But we have a package that needs retrieval... And he's a big one."

At that moment, she heard the voice of Joker. "Roger that, Commander."

Then she turned around and looked at her companions. "Another successful mission. It's time to go..." But she suddenly stopped there. For two reasons.

First, because she heard a cackle, and secondly, because she saw a hen at the end of the room. And it wasn't just any hen; it was 'the' hen, and, therefore, Shepard stared at her.

Both men looked at Shepard with a raised eyebrow, not knowing why she had suddenly stopped and why she was looking into that direction. They also turned their heads and could see that hen, with strange eyes, was pecking at the floor of the room. **"*Cluck-Cluck*."**

"Shepard?" Garrus spoke with confusion.

"You two, stay away. And for your welfare, don't disrespect that hen." She whispered, cracking her neck and doing some stretching.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Zaeed asked. "It's just an stu..." But he stopped there because Shepard had turned and pointed her weapon at him. "I told you; don't disrespect her. That's not just any hen; Naruto created her. You can get an idea what that means."

Zaeed snorted and continued. "You think too highly of that guy. What does it matter if that's a creation of Buddha himself? It's just an stu..." he was interrupted again, but this time, it wasn't due to a gun, but by the hand of Shepard. "Okay, okay. Get close and tell her what you think, but don't complain to me later."

"I'll show you how to do things." Zaeed expressed, taking a few steps forward towards the hen.

Shepard just smiled, and just then she saw Zaeed pointing his fingers at the hen. "Hey you!" He exclaimed as he came closer.

Mendori turned her head toward him, hearing him continuing. "You are an stu..." And again he couldn't finish what he had in mind. This time, because something had sent him to the other end of the room at a rate of knots.

He crashed hard into the metal wall of the room and crumpled to the floor; a single header of Mendori was enough to knock him unconscious. "Damn," Garrus whispered, impressed by what he had seen.

Well, he didn't see the hen moving at all, only Zaeed flying because something had hit him, but concluded that it had been the hen as she had landed to continue pecking.

Once Shepard had finished warming up, she turned to Garrus and said. "Take him back to the shuttle; I'll catch you up soon," she said the latter because Shepard knew she wouldn't be able to grab the hen, but she would still give her best.

Garrus shrugged and then placed Zaeed's arm around his neck before leaving and from there going toward the landing craft.

When just the two of them were there, Mendori approached Shepard to say. **"So, you have already learned to respect your superiors, eh? *Cluck-Cluck*"** she cackled.

Shepard wanted to be honest, but she swallowed it and replied as she bowed her head slightly and took her hand in her chest. "Yes, Mendori-sama."

She had learned the honorific from Naruto, who after hearing about the first meeting between the two of them, couldn't help laughing, but he told her to use that honorific at the end of her name in order to appease her.

Mendori flapped, but this time for the joy of seeing a 'fool' human acknowledging her position. **"I like you. After all, you're not like the rest of the mindless humans. *Cluck-Cluck*. You have some intelligence, unlike the others, enough to learn good manners."**

Shepard, with her head down, gritted her teeth and thought. _"Stupid hen, just wait. When I have enough strength, I'll make you eat your own words."_ Then she got it up and looked at Mendori. "Could it be that your Creator isn't a human being? Is he just as dumb as the others?"

If she could growl, the hen would have done it, but she simply cackled as she flapped rapidly. **"Don't ever compare Naruto-sama with your kind again! He is practically a deity; it's a concept that your kind will never succeed in conceiving! *Cluck- Cluck*."** Exclaimed the altered hen.

Shepard rolled her eyes, and words escaped from her involuntarily. "Shut up." She whispered, but Mendori managed to hear. **"What?!"** She asked, stomping the floor in a threatening manner.

"No, nothing. It was just curiosity, Mendori-sama." She answered, mentally sighing when seeing her calming down.

Mendori nodded and turned. **"Well, it's about time; I hope it won't be as disappointing as yesterday. Such being the case, I'll be much more rigorous from now on."** This time, there was no clucking, only the serious words of a dangerous and devilish opponent.

Shepard just nodded and prepared her muscles for the race of her life.

Once Mendori noted that Shepard was ready, she ran to an unspecified direction, followed closely by a very, and rightly, irritated Commander Shepard.

Four hours later – Normandy

Tiredness and pain; that was all Shepard could think of after returning to the ship. They were four hours of uninterrupted running, except at times when Mendori lunged toward her to attack her.

Naturally, she had been unable to defend herself against the attacks of the fast hen, but she noted however that her body would very quickly become used to her blows, until the point where, although she still received them, she could endure them much more.

That continued during those four hours, and Garrus had left the planet along with Zaeed — who was still unconscious — when the Normandy sent another shuttle to pick up the krogan.

She had obtained several bruises and lacerations from this small skirmish, although the only thing in Shepard's mind was the result that Naruto's training would give her. She couldn't deny that she felt excited to see her first signs of progress.

Nonetheless, Naruto had told her that Shepard wouldn't notice them until she got used to her weights, which, without Shepard knowing it, increased in weight by themselves as she got used to them.

Not exponentially, but gradually, so that she couldn't notice the 'trap' that Naruto had installed on his tools.

With her right hand over her ribs, she hobbled toward the bridge. The voice of Joker reached her and asked if she had been fighting the Reapers unbeknown.

Shepard replied that it had been an even more terrible opponent, and kept walking, this time towards her cabin. However, before arriving, Jacob had told her that he intended to talk to her in the communications room on the 'package' that they had retrieved from the site of her last mission.

With a "later" and "sent Naruto immediately to my room" she took the elevator to get a quick shower upon reaching her destination.

Once she felt clean enough, she went to her closet and put on her duty clothes. After that, she went to her couch and sat there until Naruto's arrival.

Looking at the clock, Shepard got some nervous tics because thirty minutes had passed since she left the bathroom, and there were no signs that Naruto would appear. She found herself wondering why he was taking so long.

There wasn't an impending threat; she had neither heard that someone from Alliance had come aboard, much less that he had gone to work as superhero around the galaxy or something like that.

Inevitably, her irritable state increased. She growled and got to her feet as she thought. _"What could he possibly be doing? Damn it, does he believe that training with his hen is easy or what?"_

She walked towards the door, still deep in her angry thoughts, causing her not to pay attention to where she was going. Therefore, when the door had opened, she inevitably crashed against something that made her fall back on the floor.

She rubbed her butt and looked up, seeing a familiar face along with a hand in front of her face. With a grunt, Shepard took his hand and stood up. "Why did you take so long?" Shepard spoke, looking at Naruto with that feeling that was afflicting her since she had woken up.

Naruto, scratching his cheek, walked toward the couch in the room. Reluctantly, Shepard followed him and sat on the sofa in front of him, waiting for him to speak.

"Sorry for the delay, Shepard. I was talking to Miranda until recently; she had something important to tell me. Do you remember?"

Shepard recalled that moment and asked with crossed arms. "And about what?"

"That, well ..."

Minutes before

After Naruto had finished that extraordinary meeting that Jack would never forget, Naruto had walked up the stairs towards the elevator. Before he could reach it, he saw two blushing engineers who simply couldn't look him in the face.

Everything indicated they had heard their screams when he was down there, so he strongly encouraged them not to talk to anyone about it, but he had winked at Daniels, who naturally blushed even more, but it caused no significant impact on Donnelly.

After he had arrived at the elevator, he remembered what Miranda had told him the night before. Therefore, he selected her deck and walked to her cabin.

The door automatically opened, so he went in without words. There he saw Miranda, sitting behind her desk and typing on her console.

Miranda stopped when seeing Naruto standing in front of her, and turned her chair toward him. "Thanks for coming by, I was waiting for you," Miranda spoke first.

Naruto saw her standing up and walking to the back of her cabin, where a couch was, inviting Naruto to sit next to her.

Naruto nodded silently and sat down. He met her eyes, seeing some regret in them. "This is something that I told Shepard, and I'll say it to you now." She started, sighing at the end.

Naruto remained silent, not wanting to say anything that might make the task of expressing her thoughts more difficult. "I-I wanted to apologize. At first, when I realized the intentions of the Commander, I thought that you wouldn't be suitable for this mission."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't open his mouth and allowed Miranda to explain herself. "You're probably thinking: 'Why do you say that if you showed yourself very interested in my skills, to the point of telling them to your boss?'"

Miranda realized that her deduction was correct, as she saw Naruto nodding. Therefore, she resumed. "It wasn't enthusiasm; I was cautious; I didn't want you near this ship. I thought if I informed the Illusive Man, then he would have been able to do something about it. However, it seems that I was totally wrong."

With a small pause, she continued. "Before I tell you the reason, I'll tell you why I didn't want you to be part of this mission."

"Go ahead."

Miranda sighed as she ran her fingers through her forehead. "You must know that you're someone very dangerous, deadly, a man capable of ending our armies alone." Those were the words that she had chosen to begin her speech.

Naruto felt a little disappointed by these words, but Miranda continued before he could get the wrong idea. "I deduced that very quickly when I saw you fighting that beast. That's why I couldn't avoid asking myself. What is he? What are his intentions? Why should we trust him? What if he is just using us? What could we do in that case? As you can see, I had many doubts about the Commander's decision to make you part of the crew. But I said nothing about it, and I'm not ashamed to say it, because I was afraid that you would retaliate."

Surprised, Naruto just nodded; he didn't know he had caused those feelings in her because he had never inquired much on the feelings or memories of the crew members.

"Wow, I didn't know that. I'm sorry," he laughed at the end, scratching his head.

"Don't worry; that's one of the reasons I realized I was wrong."

He looked at her, hearing her continuing. "That ingenuity of yours isn't something that one can find in these parts of the galaxy, let alone in someone of your abilities. Even the Commander isn't like that. But it isn't something wrong, but quite the opposite. That quality of yours made me realize that you didn't have bad intentions and that you really wanted to help this galaxy. Although I believe that the Commander had a lot to do with that." She deduced the latter.

"What do you mean?" He asked, out of curiosity.

"She has a fire, a fire that would make people willing to follow her into hell itself," she answered.

"I couldn't agree more," the clone indicated, smiling slightly.

Miranda also did it and continued. "But you, you don't have a fire, you have a flare. I'm sure you don't think as I do, but I have to defer. Since the moment you offered to hear me out, despite what I had tried to do, I realized that other peculiarity of yours. I apologize again for misjudging you."

Naruto quickly waved his hands since he felt a bit embarrassed. "No, it's also my fault. I didn't talk much with the rest of the crew. It's true that I didn't think about my condition. In my world, it wasn't uncommon to see people of my kind, and therefore, people didn't have many problems with us, less so if we were part of a village. But things are different here; I had to explain myself better and talk more with all of you so that there were no misunderstandings. Hence, I also apologize for the trouble I've caused you. "

This time he got to his feet and bowed apologetically, which brought a smile to the Cerberus operative. "You didn't have to do that, but I guess it's a tradition of yours." She said that because everyone on the ship already knew that the customs of his planet were quite similar to those of Japan.

Naruto raised his head and continued. "You have a point, but I wasn't like this before; it started from the moment I had responsibilities. I had to grow."

"Was it when you became the leader of your planet?"

"That's right, it wasn't just me anymore, but everyone."

Miranda nodded and stood up to return to her desk. "That was all I wanted to say for the moment. If I feel the need to talk to you again, I'll let you know."

Standing up, Naruto nodded. "Okay, I'm usually in the ship's hangar. I'll be waiting there."

They were about to say goodbye when they heard EDI's voice. **"As you both have finished talking, I have to inform you that the Commander has requested your presence in her cabin, Naruto-san."**

"How long ago?"

**"About thirty minutes ago."**

Naruto sighed while scratching his head. "I'd better go; she'll be upset." He bowed slightly and left the room after Miranda told him goodbye.

Back to the present

"And that's what we talked about," Naruto said, already returning to the present. "So, why did you call me?" He asked.

Shepard, sighing and rubbing her body, replied. "I need you to heal me."

Naruto smiled and spoke as he stood up and walked toward her. "Did Mendori-chan treat you badly? Did you treat her respectfully as I told you?" He inquired with a smile, already standing and kneeling in front of her to bring his hands to her.

Shepard laughed ironically, but then leaned her head on the couch and closed her eyes, shuddering again when feeling the relaxing sensation invading her body. However, this time, it was different because some pain and fatigue had remained even Naruto ended with the technique.

"Why do I still feel pain and fatigue?" she asked, confused.

Naruto replied thoughtfully. "I can't make you get used to this method, if I do it, you'll become very intolerant to pain, and that's something that will negatively affect your training. I'll only heal you completely when you really need it. Right now there's no need for it; you're not very hurt."

Shepard wanted to protest, but she knew that Naruto was right. Therefore, she sighed in defeat. "You always find a way to shut me up." She pointed out amid sighs, now looking into his eyes.

Naruto smiled slightly and added. "So do you. We're somewhat alike in that."

Shepard just smiled, but with the passing of seconds, she stood up from her seat. "By the way, any news from the original?"

Shaking his head, the clone replied. "No more than what I've already told you; he's still investigating, although he has already spotted the person in question. However, he hasn't yet seen anything suspicious enough to get involved. He doesn't want to expose himself until the right time..."

Shepard nodded and walked toward the exit, followed by Naruto, who didn't want to stay behind. "Well, let me know when you have news. Now, shall we train?"

The clone smiled at Shepard's willingness, which made him nod. "Okay. Get ready... to suffer." He finished, chuckling like a 'madman.'

Shepard swallowed hard and kept walking. The result; that was all that mattered.

* * *

**Notes:**

**And we reached the end of another chapter.**

**In this chapter I focused on what people were asking, that Naruto gets more involved with the crew. I hope you've enjoyed the talks that took place in the chapter.**

**By the way, I doubt that anything can happen between Kasumi and Naruto, Naruto perhaps comes to see her as a "sister" or something like that. But you should know that she's in love with someone else if you don't know who, then play the game. : P**

**First Lemon of the fic. And although it was a little short, I hope you've liked it. I haven't written any lemons in almost two years. Therefore, you will judge its quality.**

**Do you think it was somewhat forced? Well, the truth is I don't believe it. In the game, Jack tells Shepard that if he wants to fuck, he just have to ask. And then... xD**

**Shepard will continue to be beaten, but hopefully, we'll start seeing the fruits of her 'suffering' soon.**

**That would be all, until the next delivery.**

**Special thanks to** **"eluguy" and "Ten-Tailed-God".**


	10. Chapter 9

Organic being talking, "Hello."

Organic being thinking, _"Whatever."_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking, **"Assimilation completed."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking, **_"Sure."_**

Techniques. _"Katon Goukakyuu no jutsu."_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

**Chapter 9**

After Shepard had given the idea of going to train, she remembered Jacob's words and therefore told Naruto's clone to wait a few minutes until she dealt with his problem.

Upon reaching the Communications Room, she saw Jacob and Miranda, who were talking about the "package" that Shepard had sent to pick up on her last mission.

Both were concerned, but Shepard told them that there was nothing to worry about, and if the krogan was a problem, she would throw him out the airlock.

With nothing more to say, both Cerberus' operatives withdrew, watching Naruto standing at the exit.

Both greeted him but said nothing and headed towards their respective stations, where Shepard reappeared to say, "Before going to train, I have to check the krogan. I'll wake him up."

Naruto didn't see any problem and added, "I'll follow you."

When passing through Mordin's lab, he stopped and looked at them. "Shepard, do you have a minute to talk?"

"Sure, what do you need?" She asked, standing in front of his desk.

Once Mordin heard the question, he looked at Naruto with a face of 'give me your "tissues,"' which made the immortal person smile nervously.

However, he didn't call her for that reason, so he answered, "The AI has informed me of something interesting, an unusual package that you got from your last mission."

Shepard raised an eyebrow and asked curiously, "Are you worried about what might happen to you if he finds out that there is a salarian aboard the ship?" It was well how krogans regarded salarians as the architects of the Genophage.

"Incorrect. Pure interest. Would like to analyze him to see how Genophage has developed in a 'pure' krogan," he replied bluntly.

Shepard nodded and stepped back, "We'll see. First, I must make sure that he's not a danger, then you can ask him about it."

"Hmm, dangerous. It could risk my life. But it is for science. Now I must continue my research; we'll talk later." With that said, he returned to type in his console.

Shepard nodded and left along with Naruto towards a room of the engineering deck, the place where they had put the krogan's capsule.

Two people were standing guard, so Shepard told them to take a break. They both nodded and withdrew from the room; they didn't even try to contradict her as they saw Naruto behind the commander, so there was no way that her security could be in danger.

When the door had closed, they both looked at the capsule. "Well, here we go," Shepard spoke, hearing EDI saying that the subject was stable.

Shepard nodded and said that she would open the tank. EDI reminded her of Cerberus' protocol, but the blonde woman replied that she didn't care and that she would do it anyways.

She heard nothing more and pressed the tank's button, releasing the liquid that kept the enigmatic alien.

The 'demigod' stood beside her, watching the tank moving as the liquid went down.

Once it had been completely drained, the door opened abruptly, and the krogan inevitably fell to the floor.

He coughed a few times, spewing substantial amounts of the solution that had been his home since his creation.

He looked around in confusion, trying to figure out where he was.

As he analyzed the surroundings, his eyes made contact with those humans who were looking at him with interest.

He stood up slowly, showing his imposing figure as he watched these two unwary humans taking a few steps towards him to get a better look.

The krogan couldn't tolerate it; his eyes narrowed and furiously grunted as he charged toward them.

He opened both arms in an attempt to give them both a deadly embrace, however, when he tried to hug Naruto, he was stopped completely.

He couldn't advance; he couldn't move him, not even a single inch; it was as if he weighed hundreds of thousands of tons.

He grunted and strained his muscles as much as he could in an attempt to advance at least slightly.

It was useless, as the immortal blond man didn't even bat an eye. "Do you even lift, bro?" He joked, watching the krogan pushing him with all his might, almost to the point of slipping.

The krogan didn't take it very well, so he grunted repeatedly, believing that it would give him more strength.

Shepard, wanting to get to her training, decided to interrupt. "Just give up, you're not gonna make it."

The krogan stopped his great efforts, stepping back slightly to look at the blond man with blue eyes. "Human. Male... Interesting, strong, reckless. You're what they call an 'alpha male.'"

During his stay in the tank, Okeer had imprinted him with information of all kinds, and among that immense database, there was no information of human than a krogan couldn't physically overpower.

It was unusual, enigmatic, but above all, surprising. Those details were enough for the 'perfect' being to acknowledge him as a great warrior.

Naruto scratched his cheek softly, "Alpha Male, eh? Well, not bad for a first impression: I've been called worse," he chuckled as he remembered what Jack had called him.

The krogan moved closer to add, "As a human being, you seem to fit enough. For now, I won't have trouble following you." He stepped back, watching Naruto moving his hands and mouth to speak.

However, Shepard went ahead. "He's not in charge here; you'll follow my orders and nobody else's."

The krogan turned to her. "Human. Female. Fragile but rude. Why do you think you have enough to compare yourself to this human male?"

Shepard ducked her head slightly. "There's no way that I or anyone can compare to Naruto. However ..." With a small pause, she raised her head and revealed sharp eyes that surprised the analyzing krogan.

At that moment, Shepard raised her right hand, surrounding the krogan with a blue aura that raised him and crashed him into the wall. "Don't underestimate me."

Naruto whistled surprised but ultimately said "Ouch" when hearing the impact sound.

Shepard lowered her hand, watching the krogan shaking his head and standing up slowly, releasing light sounds that resembled a laugh. "Interesting, Okeer didn't give me much information about humans; I can see that you can be great warriors."

He walked toward them, almost as if the attack didn't cause him even the slightest damage. "Both of you are capable warriors. However, I won't follow anyone who faces weak enemies. If that's the case, I'll be forced to kill you."

The blondes smiled, and Shepard replied. "Don't worry about it; our enemies will be worthy, no doubt about that."

The krogan grunted and nodded slightly. "That's okay... You seem to be in charge, so I'll fight for you, as long as you show the same worth and strength." They both nodded.

"Now I need a name." He paused, looking into the eyes of the blonde woman.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Normandy."

The krogan grunted and shook his head, "Not your name. Mine. I am trained. I know things, but the tank... Okeer couldn't implant connection. His words are hollow. Warlord, legacy, grunt... grunt. 'Grunt' was among the last. It has no meaning. It'll do... I am Grunt."

"Nice to meet you, Grunt," the blondes said at the same time.

Grunt nodded and stepped back to his tank, "As you've noticed, I'm a krogan, and as one, I just want to fight. So if I find a clan, if I find what I… I want, I will be honored to pit them eventually against you. Now leave me alone."

Not wanting to disturb him any longer, both turned and left in silence towards the elevator.

They came in, and Shepard touched the button to the hangar. When the door was closing, a hand covered with tattoos stood in the middle, which opened the gates.

They saw Jack, who entered with a smile but remained in total silence. She stood next to Naruto and looked forward, completely ignoring both individuals who were looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Well, Naruto with some nervousness.

The gate closed again, and both blondes looked forward; Shepard shrugged and decided to wait until they reached the hangar to ask the questions.

Naruto, on the other hand, looked askance at Jack, noticing a very slight, almost imperceptible, smile on her face. The next thing he noticed was that she moved her right hand and brought it toward him, more specifically, to his left buttock before pressing it hard.

 _"What are you doing?"_ Naruto mentally asked, not wanting to make a fuss and Shepard noticed what Jack was doing.

 _"Oh, telepathy? Well, I'm just having fun. Also, since I'm recovered, I'm willing to do it again,"_ she answered, this time widening her smile.

Naruto sighed and mentally replied, _"It's not like I have problems with doing it again. But for now, don't say anything about it."_

 _"Heh, are you afraid of upsetting the great Commander Shepard? Don't tell me that she has you on a leash."_ This time, her hand moved in circles.

Jack heard laughter ringing in her head before hearing the words, _"Okay, you win. Return to the hangar when everyone has gone to sleep. And please, stop touching my ass."_

This time, Jack giggled, which made Shepard look at the recruit.

She saw nothing strange, just noticed that both were smiling. "It seems that both of you are already getting along. What happened?" She asked with interest.

Jack went ahead to answer, "Nothing, Shepard. The Cat Man just told me that he wasn't part of Cerberus. I came aboard with the wrong idea."

"I see, I sensed that that was one of the reasons for your cold attitude."

"I'm not a cat man. Now stop calling me that," Naruto interrupted, crossing his arms and turning his head toward her.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I don't know any other human being who has whiskers marks on his cheeks," Jack added, staring at his marks, and Shepard as well.

The door opened at that moment, and they all walked forward, hearing his answer, "Well, if you had been in contact with the same supernatural being while you were in the belly of your mother, then you would too."

"Excuses of a mutant," Jack joked, which made Naruto put a grumpy expression on his face.

However, he looked at Jack with narrowed eyes before laughing and shaking his hands. "I see, I see. But hey, we'll see who has the last laugh."

He had concluded that Jack just wanted to bother him as she had done hours earlier, perhaps so that their 'encounter' could have the same intensity.

Shepard had no idea what that meant, but she thought that Naruto planned to prank her or something like that. She decided it was safer not to ask questions.

They walked and stopped in the middle of the hangar; there she looked at Jack. "Well, why did you come here?"

Shrugging, Jack replied, "Do I need a reason?"

"No, but I think it's strange that you decided to follow us."

"Well, since I had read all I needed to know about Cerberus, I decided to take a walk in search of something... interesting." She turned her eyes slightly toward Naruto, mentally smiling. "And since I saw you walking together, I wanted to see what you were up to."

"I see... Okay, Naruto and I will train; we won't do anything else. If you want, you can stay or leave, whatever you like." With that said, Shepard began her warm-up exercises.

"Training, huh? Interesting, it'll be an excellent opportunity to see what the Cat Man can do." She heard Naruto whining at her name for him, but she just smiled and headed to the Hammerhead to lie back against it.

Naruto waited for Shepard to either finish her warm-up or ask for an explanation; it was the second one. "Well? What are we going to do?"

At that moment, Naruto changed his clothes to the ones he had worn on Thessia before starting the test.

Jack's eyes widened slightly at the sight, even though she had already seen him creating clothes out of nowhere; he did it before leaving the engineering basement. After all, he had to replace the pants he had ripped apart, although she didn't think that he could do it in that way.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, but she understood what he wanted when Naruto took a fighting stance. "I want you to show me how good you are at using your body."

The commander didn't hesitate and adopted a boxing stance. "As you wish, I just hope that you don't cheat."

"I won't... And if you can hit me, I'll do whatever you want for a week."

Shepard smiled with excitement, not because she could tell Naruto to behave sweetly to her; it hadn't even crossed her mind. The only thing she could think of was the ridiculous things she could ask him to do, perhaps making him admit that he was a Cat Man for a week.

Jack, meanwhile, spoke her mind, "Can I also try after her turn ends?"

The blondes looked at her, and Naruto replied. "Sure, if you want to do it afterward," he finished giving a very crooked smile that would have intimidated Shepard and possibly removed all the desire to participate in this training.

Jack recognized that smile as the one of a true sadist without remedy. She moved her eyes sideways and then waved her hands. "Hey, I think I'll just watch for now," she answered, and Naruto instantly looked ahead.

Jack sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead. One single smile had been enough to intimidate someone of her caliber; she didn't intend to try her luck with someone who could do that with a smile only.

Shepard nodded and started with her footwork to close up on Naruto, who merely observed.

When she was near, Shepard looked at his face before throwing fast and powerful jabs. Naruto, however, dodged them by moving his head sideways.

Seeing that it didn't work, Shepard made a quick turn and tried to attack Naruto in his blind spot with a straight right. Naruto, however, had ducked his head and dodged it.

Shepard stepped back and smiled as she raised her guard. "Are you sure you're not cheating?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I'm even blocking my reflexes to normal levels."

"Okay, here I go again." She cut distance with her footwork again, and this time, she threw several cross punches, which Naruto avoided with a jump back.

Shepard didn't lose concentration and cut distance before Naruto could set foot on the floor, and she directed a jab to his face.

Jack smiled, thinking that Shepard would make contact and therefore win the bet.

Just when it seemed that Shepard would win, Naruto bent over backward, dodging the blow just as he touched the floor.

"Hey! That's cheating! Nobody moves like that in the middle of a fight!" The commander protested.

Naruto smiled and ran his thumb over his nose. "And who said that nonsense? There are no rules in a fight. Come on, stop crying and try to hit me, or perhaps you're afraid of breaking your nails?" He put on such a mocking and arrogant smile that Shepard couldn't help but grit her teeth and dash at him, completely forgetting her footwork.

However, her punches were still fast and accurate, but Naruto had begun to move as he displayed his incredible flexibility.

He bent, crouched, rolled, made several flick flack back jumps.

Seeing that last display, Shepard had given up, so she dropped her arms as she sighed. "I give up."

"So fast?" Naruto asked with a smile, standing in front of her.

"Yes, it's impossible to hit you if you move like that." She wasn't physically exhausted; mentally, she was.

She had lost the will to continue after seeing Naruto's superiority, even when he moved like an average person. She didn't want to imagine how it would if he did it seriously.

She sighed and cracked her neck to pull the slight exhaustion away, just to hear Naruto speaking. "Do you want to know what your problem is, Shepard? Do you want to know why you couldn't hit me despite all the opportunities I gave you?"

Shepard stopped and looked into his eyes, opting to remain silent. "Because you didn't use your legs."

"I don't think it would have made much difference, not with the way you moved."

Naruto moved his index finger sideways while cutting distance with the blonde woman. "You're wrong, from the waist down I was completely unprotected; I thought that you wouldn't use your legs to attack with your fighting style. So to dispel the doubts, I decided to leave large openings so you could attack me with your legs. But you completely missed them; I think you didn't even realize. "

"Okay, okay. Maybe you're right."

Naruto nodded. "Well, I want you to forget that style forever. It's good, but not right for your work or for what you aspire to. From now on, I want you to do what I'll do next. Pay close attention."

He paused, leaning slightly to spread his legs and do some stretching. "By the way, before I start, I'll tell you two things."

Shepard merely observed which the blond man caught. "First, I'll increase my speed slightly; just a little bit, I won't even be near the speed you eventually need."

The Commander nodded and spoke, "Okay, what's the other one?"

Inevitably, Naruto put that same smile he had shown Jack, and this time, both could see it, _"Oh, Oh,"_ Jack thought.

Shepard could only be suspicious but failed to ask since the Jinchūriki spoke earlier. "Do you remember when I told you that I should strengthen your body?"

Shepard stepped back slightly, not having time to show her surprise when seeing Naruto already in front of her and smiling as he continued. "Well... hang in there."

At that moment, she felt a trip, which made her lose her balance and fall back to the ground.

Shepard didn't have to recover her balance, as Naruto moved quickly and stood in the middle of her right side, moving his right fist to give her a punch to her stomach that almost sent her to the world of dreams.

Since it hadn't been enough to do so, Shepard could only spit out as she felt a powerful knee on her back that made her up.

She couldn't express the pain, as she felt a punch to her face which almost broke her jaw.

That blow sent her faster to the floor, but before she could touch it, Naruto had given her a powerful kick that sent her towards Jack's place.

The Subject Zero looked down with eyes wide open. _"Damn, that guy wouldn't hesitate to beat me up. Shit, I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't get up after those blows; anyone would lose consciousness."_

Her surprise was great after seeing the commander coughing noisily as she spat out some blood. That last kick had probably broken some ribs, not to mention what the previous blows had done.

Shepard gritted her teeth as she carried her hands on her aching stomach; she could feel that one of her ribs had punctured one of her lungs, and this was giving her a hard time with breathing.

She spat out more blood before looking up, just in time to see Naruto lowering his fist at her head.

She moved at the last second, listening with horror that terrifying sound that his fist had caused after making contact with the floor.

Both females looked nervously toward a perfect fist marked on the floor; it was as if someone had put his fist there when they were making the mold.

"Good reflexes," Naruto flattered, wiping the dust away from his fist.

"A-Are you crazy? *Cough* you could've killed me," Shepard criticized, with great difficulty when speaking.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and spoke with a hint of disappointment, "Is it fear that I feel? Are you going to give up?"

Shepard looked up, seeing those severe blue eyes that held a hint of disappointment in their depths.

"N-No... But ..."

"But? There are no 'buts' here. You either get up or give up. What is it going to be?" He interrupted.

"I-I... I-I..." She just wanted to curse; the pain was unbearable; not even Mendori left her so sore, Naruto was certainly on another level.

But she couldn't disappoint him; she knew he wanted her to continue. She could see the spark in his eyes when he instructed her or gave her advice to cope with her training; it was something he enjoyed.

Shepard couldn't deny that the idea of giving up crossed her mind, but she didn't want to. Not because that would mean disappointing Naruto and possibly take the shine away from his eyes, but because she would disappoint herself and would look like a coward. And no, Shepard could be whatever the people wanted, but never a coward.

With that last thought, she made an extraordinary effort to get to her feet, holding her hand over where she could feel the pulses that her punctured lung sent. "This *cough * This is not over yet."

Naruto and Kurama smiled at her determination, though it didn't mean that Naruto would go easy on her. On the contrary, the difficulty and pain would just increase.

"Let's see that, then... Raise your guard," Naruto ordered before taking a combat stance.

Shepard groaned in pain and tried to raise her fists, but as soon as she brought them up to her chin, they fell heavily back to her side.

Naruto watched her trying it again, but once again, she failed. "Get your guard up!" He exclaimed and delivered a powerful blow that broke her nose.

Although the blow had hurt her, she didn't yield to it and tried it again, but she failed once again; she almost had no energy left.

The immortal Shinobi grunted again, and this time, he gave no less than ten hits on her face and another fifteen on both sides of her body while yelling without stopping to raise her guard.

She could no longer resist and fell to her knees, covered in blood and with a quite swollen face.

If Naruto had been an ordinary person, Jack wouldn't have seen the need of intervening, but knowing that he wasn't, she approached Shepard and bent down to ask if she was okay.

The blonde woman didn't respond; there was just silence as the blood ran from her nose to her chin, and from her chin to the floor. She was barely conscious, but still, Shepard didn't want to give up.

As Jack saw that Naruto approached with the intention of continuing his attack, she moved her hands to make a stop sign. "Hey, don't you think that's enough? Shepard is barely awake. If you continue, you'll probably kill her."

"Stay away; this has nothing to do with you. You're just here to observe; step aside," he ordered with a so serene but powerful voice that it sent the 'rescuer' shivers.

Jack knew that Shepard could be anything but a weak woman for what she had heard, but after such a brutal beating, she couldn't avoid looking at Naruto with eyes of suspicion; he was overstepping with this training.

For this reason, she stood in front of Naruto. "No, it was already enou..." She couldn't finish because a force surrounded her and sent her crashing hard into the wall.

"It ends when Shepard or I say so."

Jack tried to growl and get up, but failed because her whole body felt numb; she couldn't do anything, she could only do what she had been doing from the beginning, observe.

Naruto looked down with an expression that denoted his experience as an instructor. He didn't want to see Shepard failing; therefore, he commanded, "Come on, stand up! Show me what you are made of, Shepard!"

Shepard clenched her weakened fists, which were shaking uncontrollably due to the pain and the exhaustion.

 **"It seems like she's not going to make it, just heal her,"** Kurama indicated; he wasn't concerned but believed that Shepard had had enough. One of Naruto's blow wasn't something that just anyone could resist, even if these were restricted.

Naruto shook his head. _"She will; I know she can."_ His words denoted a lot of confidence and respect.

His lips parted, and he yelled again, "Were you deceiving me?! Didn't you want to become stronger?!"

"Yes! I want to, damn it!"

"Well, get up and show me!"

Shepard groaned and, with a moment of sheer determination, she surrounded herself with her biotic cloak, removing as much excess weight as possible to get to her feet, staggering a few times before succeeding.

Their eyes made contact, determination in Shepard's and a dangerous gleam in Naruto's.

However, Shepard didn't raise her fists yet. For some strange reason, she felt as if they were the heaviest parts of her body.

She never stopped looking into Naruto's eyes; she continued with her staring as her eyes radiated a strange glow that surprised Naruto.

He hid the smile that crossed his mind, seeing Shepard gritting her teeth while her trembling fists ascended inch by inch.

When he saw her fists at inches to her chin, the immortal blond stood in combat stance.

"Looks like you're ready for more, here I go." Naruto smiled in 'that' way before jumping to the attack.

However, his powerful fists stopped at centimeters from her face. The reason? Shepard didn't move; she had only kept her fists in front of her nose while giving that intense gaze.

Naruto smiled, sighed and lowered his fists as he bent down to lead his hands to Shepard's legs before picking her up in a bridal style.

Just then, Shepard closed her eyes as her arms fell powerless, but Naruto raised them and placed them correctly.

He could only smile as he watched her already serene expression, but hearing her erratic breaths.

He moved his right hand to her chest, and it glowed, giving her that much-needed energy.

He didn't wake her up because she had passed out, and although Naruto was healing her, that wouldn't be enough to do so.

Naruto could only look at her, especially at her fleshy lips and her soft white skin, almost to the point of getting lost in them and perhaps committing an imprudence.

He didn't want to admit it, but Shepard awoke something in him from the moment he first saw her. Her strong and determined attitude; her renegade and reckless behavior; her kindness and charisma.

Nevertheless, he didn't deign to think about those details; he merely continued his work.

As he did so, Jack could finally move; she rubbed her body and walked towards the glowing duo.

She didn't utter a word, just watched that skill restoring Shepard's features to normal.

Once the blond man had finished, he turned around and walked toward the exit, but not before saying a few words, "I hope you're not angry because I threw you into the wall."

"Well, I can't deny that I was surprised and that it hurt me, but I'm not angry. I meddled in something that I was only supposed to observe."

Naruto turned his head slightly toward her before smiling, "I appreciate your understanding. I'm doing this for her and her desire to help others; it's the only way to make her stronger."

Jack shrugged, "I understand, but hey, it seems that she failed to win the bet. I wonder what she would have asked if she succeeded."

Naruto stopped and turned his head to look at her with a half-smile. "And do you still want to try? I can come back later."

The Subject Zero swallowed, "I think I'll try it another time."

While she was nervous, that didn't mean she was afraid of Naruto. Jack just didn't want to do anything that she could to avoid.

If Shepard had failed to hit him with her fists, she would have fewer chances. Perhaps she would get some points with her biotic powers, but the deal hadn't been that. Therefore, she would avoid melee combat with Naruto as long as she could.

The clone nodded and continued walking toward the elevator as he said, "Sorry, Jack, but we'll postpone our appointment; we'll do it on another occasion. What do you say?"

Jack sighed in disappointment and walked with hurried steps to catch him up. "Well, I suppose I don't have a choice. Although it seems that the tender kitten feels something for the commander and doesn't want to leave her alone," she hinted while moving his eyebrows.

Naruto remained silent until reaching Jack's deck; Naruto said goodbye, leaving Jack, who just shrugged.

Upon entering Shepard's cabin, Naruto wandered to her bed and laid Shepard gently on it; being careful not to make sudden movements that could wake her up. He slipped her under the sheet and placed her head on the pillow.

The Uzumaki didn't know for what reason he did what he had done next; he had simply acted by instinct.

A soft and pleasant feeling of flesh against flesh, breath against breath, skin against skin.

His right hand touched her soft skin with gentleness, whereas the left one was on her neck, drawing her into a delicate but sincere kiss.

Unaware of his actions, the clone slowly stroked the face of Shepard, who despite being deep in dreams, reflected a profound joy and happiness.

He continued with the soft kiss, to the point of wanting to deepen it—which Shepard seemed to notice because her lips had split slightly.

When feeling the small opening and the warm breath that her mouth expelled, the clone became aware of his actions, which caused him to stop abruptly.

He looked at Shepard with eyes wide open before wondering what he had done. He stepped back, putting his hands over his head as he walked in circles around the cabin.

He stopped and nervously looked toward the bed, feeling relief when noticing that she was still asleep. Nonetheless, he approached the bed and sat down on it, sighing as he lowered his head. _"I did something stupid. Damn it."_

**"Why are you complaining? It's about time. Wake her up and finish like a man what you've started."**

_"No, Kurama, you don't understand. Any relationship in my current situation is impossible. Damn it; I knew this would be risky; I knew it from the moment I met her."_

**"What did you know?"** He questioned, raising an eyebrow.

 _"I knew that I'd fall in love with her,"_ he admitted in defeat, finally accepting what had been refusing to analyze.

Kurama decided to remain silent; he wanted to know what Naruto would say next. He saw him looking at Shepard before getting up and approaching her, bringing his head closer.

_"From the moment I saw her, and every time I had the opportunity to find out about her, I knew she was an amazing woman, and that attracted me greatly. Even so, I did my best so she wouldn't feel the same, but I realized that it had already been a little late. So I tried her to stop thinking about it. She decreased her advances after our date, but even so, her personality didn't weaken at all. "_

With a small pause, he raised his head and his expression changed to a more serious one. _"And that's what attracted me, and it still does. However, I can't reciprocate."_

**"Why?"**

Naruto sighed before answering, _"I can't tell you right now, it's something very personal, and while I have full confidence in you, it's something that I want to keep as a secret as long as I can. I might explain my reasons later, but for now, just accept my words."_

Kurama sighed in exasperation; he didn't understand why he acted like that. If it was due to his immortality, Kurama knew he would lose it after finishing his deal with the Shinigami. Therefore, Kurama had no idea what was stopping him from rebuilding his life.

**"So what will you do from now on? Will you make her hate you to stop being in love with you?"**

Shaking his head, Naruto replied, _"I don't want that to happen, not because I wouldn't like it, but because it would affect our friendship and maybe make my mission harder. Remember that I'm here just for Shepard; she should always be the one who is in the lead, I'm just her support. "_

**"I know; you want them to solve their own problems, helping each other and not only depending on you."**

Naruto nodded, knelt down and brought his hand up to stroke Shepard's face. _"Maybe I should erase what happened in the last few minutes from my memory; I don't wish to bother the boss."_

 **"Oh, no! Of course not!"** Kurama exclaimed, rushing out of his body in a reduced size and biting the clone before he could go through with his idea.

Both disappeared in a puff of smoke, disturbing the rest of the blonde woman, who rested on the bed.

She opened her eyes, just to see a puff of smoke vanishing into the air. She wondered what that unusual sight could be, but she recalled that only Naruto could do something like that.

She called his name a few times, but as she remembered that it was a clone, she concluded that perhaps he had already vanished.

She dismissed it, imagining that the original would send another one the next day.

She stretched her arms, put her hands to her mouth and gave a long yawn before jumping back to her bed.

Once there, she placed her hand under her pillow while thinking with a smile, _"What? Why can't I put this smile away from my face? And why is my heart beating so fast?"_

Those were questions that she had no way to answer, so she had no choice but to sleep again with those refreshing and positive feelings.

* * *

**Notes:**

**End.**

**I did something risky in this chapter...**

**I had planned to write the moment that the information returned to the original at the end, but I decided to leave it for the next chapter.**

**As you've noticed, the chapter was rather short. I decided to make them in this way to have the fastest chapters from now on. That's the best decision, right?**

**Since I've mentioned the next chapter, I'll make a brief introduction with a little flashback of what Naruto is doing at Fehl Prime. Although things there won't end so soon. Then I'll return with the Commander, and a new clone will be with her.**

**Now, you may be thinking (I believe) that Naruto exaggerated by hitting Shepard in such way, but understand that it's the only way to make her stronger. If Naruto is soft, there won't be significant progress.**

**Now, the thing about the harem is virtually discarded, and Tali and Aria are on the tightrope.**

**By the way, I got Shepard's combat style (boxing) from one of the "fights" she had in Mass Effect 3 with a person of her crew. For those who already know it, you already know; and for those who don't, well, I don't want to give spoilers.**

**There is nothing more to explain.**

**Until the next chapter.**


	11. Chapter 10

Organic being talking, "What's up? "

Organic being thinking, _"Maybe"_

Non-Organic being / Demon talking, **"I don't understand your order."**

Non-Organic being / Demon thinking, **_"He must be kidding."_**

Techniques. _"Oiroke no Jutsu!"_

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor Mass Effect. Credits to their respective owners.

**Chapter 10**

Fehl Prime

Watchful, attentive, serene... distracted. A sigh could be heard in the darkness of the night that only the moon and stars illuminated, a sigh filled with longing and desire, but above all, concern.

"Shepard," a whisper escaped from the lips of the man who was staring at the stars, at the place where he felt the presence of the woman who made him experience sensations that he didn't want to remember but which he had no way of controlling.

He tried to calm his racing heart but to no avail. With another sigh, he sat on top of the colony's shield generator, looking at the colony, where its people were now peacefully sleeping.

 **"And what will you do?"** He suddenly heard a voice in his mind.

_"I don't know; I won't erase my memory, but I will ignore what happened. I can't get distracted from my main mission."_

**"Okay, but, what now?"**

_"I'll introduce myself at dawn; I have an idea of what to do."_ Having said that, he made a Henge to change his features and clothes.

Now his hair was black, his whisker marks were gone, and he wore the uniform of a high-ranking officer of the Alliance. He had thought of a new plan and would need the help of Admiral Hackett. However, he would have to wait for sunrise.

While he waited, lost in thought, the sudden laughter of his tenant made him wonder what he would say next.

**"By the way, you and that tattooed woman had a really 'interesting' party. I wonder if the woman in the tight white suit will be next one."**

_"I make no promises, perverted fox,"_ the immortal man responded.

Kurama laughed and added, **"Of course you don't, Naruto. But you're weak; the 'meat' is your weakness, hehe."**

Knowing he was right, the Uzumaki merely sighed and waited for dawn.

Hours later

The first rays of the sun illuminated the colony, and with it the came a flurry of movement as the colonists started their day. Some of them went to the pharmaceutical factory, others continued their investigations, and the Alliance soldiers continued with the task of upgrading the defenses to avoid another attack.

Those were near the anti-ship cannon, completing its final assembly.

Among them was James Vega, a burly man and the second in command.

Another one was a young woman with a serene expression, with black hair that she tied in a ponytail, light complexion, and blue eyes; her name was Kamille.

The other one was a man of dark complexion, brown hair, and scars on his face. His name was Mason, and he was Kamille's boyfriend.

One of them had an arrogant expression, but also a carefree one. He was a blond and brown-eyed man; his name was Essex.

Milque was another of those present; with black hair and an expression that looked like that of a coward, but that one could interpret as that of a cautious person.

Nicky was a short brown-haired young man, who had glasses that hid his timid personality.

Toni was the captain of the team; a tall man with intimidating traits that his subordinates described as those of a "hard son of a bitch."

There also was an asari anthropologist, Treeya Nuwani, who wasn't part of the Alliance team. However, there was a certain 'friendly tension' between the bluish beauty and James Vega.

"Come on, ladies! I want this cannon working by the end of the day," the captain exclaimed as he watched his team working; he would have helped them, but he had to make sure that each one of them did their part properly since they were handling an extremely delicate and expensive weapon.

"Hey, captain," Nicky spoke through the communicator from the top of the cannon as he pressed some of the functions of his Omni-tool.

"What's going on, Nicky?" Toni asked, looking up.

"There seems to be some interference with the antenna. Could you go outside the colony and see if your Omni-tool receives the data that I will send you?"

The captain sighed. "Okay; I'll be back. And you guys, don't stop." He gave one last glance to his team, who nodded as they watched him turning around and walking away.

After a few minutes, Treeya peeked out from the command post and looked down to ask. "Where's the captain?"

Kamille stopped to answer, "He'll be back in a few minutes."

The asari had no choice but to say, "James, I need you to come up here."

The man nodded and went up the stairs to that place. "What's going on?"

"It's the Alliance channel; they are sending a message."

"I wonder what they need." The lieutenant pressed a button on the panel, and instantly a picture appeared on a screen, which made him stand firmly and salute.

"Admiral Hackett, sir!" he exclaimed.

"Rest, soldier."

"What do I owe this honor, sir?" he inquired as he returned to his starting stance.

"I was waiting for Captain Toni, but it doesn't matter since this will be an informal conversation. I just want to inform that an Alliance supervisor will arrive today in the colony; I hope you can receive him properly."

"If you don't mind me asking, why is the Alliance sending a supervisor?"

"He will make a report on the colony. While the performance has been remarkable, we are not sure if the current defenses would be enough against another possible attack. "

"Understood, Admiral. What's his name?"

"Menma Namikaze." The admiral proceeded to reveal an image of the person in question.

James and Treeya paid attention and saw a person who looked younger than the lieutenant did. His hair and eyes were black, his skin was somewhat tanned, and had a serious expression that conveyed wisdom. He also wore a high-ranking uniform of the Alliance.

"Understood, sir. Just one last question, do you have any recommendations?"

He saw him hesitating, almost as if he didn't know what to answer; he did it anyway. "You'll find out for yourself, lieutenant." He didn't wait for a response and cut the communication.

Sighing, the older man looked to his right to hear the next statement. "I'm sorry, Admiral. It seems that I asked too much," a clone of the blond immortal man apologized; this one had teleported to this location to request his aid.

"Don't worry; this is for the sake of that colony. I just didn't know what to answer because, unfortunately, I still don't know you that much."

"We'll have time for that, sir," the clone assured.

"It's good to hear that. By the way, I've just handed the plans to someone, I'm sure Shepard will be surprised when she sees him."

"That's great news; then I won't take more of your time. We'll meet again on Earth, goodbye."

The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Hackett, after erasing the records of the conversation with James, went to his cabin.

In the meantime, the lieutenant had turned around and looked at the anthropologist to say something but was interrupted by a call from outside.

Leaving the room, he saw Nicky, who was pointing to the sky as he said. "There's a shuttle of the Alliance."

James looked over there. "They arrived sooner than I expected," he whispered before speaking through the comm. "Listen up: the Alliance has sent a supervisor, who will decide if we need more resources to protect the colony. If we do well, they could provide us more funds to improve the shield, or to install one more cannon."

"Then let's go to greet him," Kamille added, which made them nod.

The soldiers, the asari anthropologist and several curious colonists approached the ship that had landed a few meters from the imposing protective barrier.

Since James had explained the situation, the soldiers stood in a welcoming position and saluted as the lieutenant approached the shuttle's gate.

The door opened and James saluted when seeing a man descending. "Sir."

"Rest," the 'inspector' replied as he set foot on solid land, sending the rest of the soldiers to rest too.

James took the opportunity to speak. "Mr. Namikaze, the Admiral has informed me of your arrival a few minutes ago. I'm sorry that we've couldn't receive you in a proper way, but I didn't think you would arrive so soon."

"Do not worry, such trivialities will not affect my judgment," I have responded before walking to the entrance, the place where curious civilians were watching.

The soldiers broke ranks and followed their superiors back to the colony while the 'shuttle' took off and quickly disappeared in the sky. It had been nothing more than an illusion, one that Naruto had applied to each one of the inhabitants while they were sleeping.

He had already examined the colony in detail beforehand; however, he pretended that the information provided by James about the colony was new to him.

There was no need to explain about the Blood Pack attack, as the lieutenant assumed he already knew about it; such was the case because Hackett had told the details to his clone.

As they entered, Naruto asked, "Are you in charge of this operation?"

"I'm sorry, Sir. That would be Captain Toni. He is currently at the other end of the colony, but we have already informed him of your arrival; he'll receive you as soon as possible."

'Menma' thanked him for the information, and, this time, he requested a place where he could settle in; James asked him to follow him.

Among the crowd that still didn't know who the newcomer was there was a man with brown hair and a red cap, mustache and goatee, and black sunglasses.

This man wondered, _"Who is he and what is he doing here?_ _I will have to investigate and then report it to the Collectors and the Illusive Man."_

He separated from the crowd and went to the control tower to see if he could find out more.

'Menma' turned his head in his direction, squinting at his intentions. He wouldn't do anything, as it wasn't the right time to act yet.

"This way, sir." The lieutenant pointed to the barracks.

When they arrived there, the burly man showed him a room, where the Uzumaki quickly deposited the equipment he had brought, or, rather, created.

James and his companions watched him in silence until they saw him staring at the lieutenant, specifically, at a medal in his armor that read "Forever Normandy."

"That medal..." The black haired man spoke with a finger on his chin. "The SSV Normandy, right?"

"That's right," the lieutenant replied.

"You were a member of the crew?" He knew the answer, but he preferred to start a conversation and have something to distract himself with until he decided it was the time to act.

James smiled and looked at the medal. "Not really, but I really respect Commander Shepard." He paused and looked directly into the interrogator's eyes. "Nor have I seen her in person, but her reputation, as you know, is well known in the Alliance, and even across the galaxy."

"That's true; the commander is a source of inspiration for all those who aspire to be formidable soldiers like her," Naruto replied and stood up.

"It's a pity that she's dead," the burly Alliance soldier added, sadly sighing at the end.

The Uzumaki turned around and walked towards the exit, where the rest of the platoon saluted him. He stopped there to say, "She's not dead; she was recently seen in the Citadel." With that said, he left the room.

"Really?" They all asked in unison, with eyes wide open.

The Jinchūriki turned toward them. "Yes, she was in the Citadel to discuss some matters that I am not aware of. Classified information."

"I can only assume it was a meeting for the benefit of the galaxy," James added, puffing out his chest with pride.

The dark haired man smiled. "Your admiration for the commander is no joke. Anyone would think you're a fan or something."

His teammates laughed slightly, but the lieutenant didn't feel upset. "It might sound like that, but I'm not ashamed of showing respect for someone who has saved the lives of millions. I am proud to follow her example."

Naruto looked into his eyes, and almost released a whistle at the glint of pride in them. He didn't know that people admired Shepard that much, but it wasn't strange; her deeds were worthy of admiration.

He left that aside and continued his walk toward the exit. "Could you show me the rest of the facility?"

"Yes, sir!" They saluted and walked behind him while James at his side.

When they left the barracks, the lieutenant and his companions took care of giving him a detailed tour. They showed him the points they thought that would be of his interest, including the control tower, the anti-ship cannon, the station that generated and maintained the shields, the pharmaceutical factory, and even a firing range.

Naruto thanked him for the tour but asked if the colony had an open space where he could stretch a little bit.

James recommended the park, to which 'Menma' said that he would be grateful if he could show him the way.

Once there, those present observed the visitor performing some warm-up stretches before beginning his training. He decided to do this because he had already identified the problematic person.

Besides, he thought that maybe he would be on this planet for a long time, and he wanted to do something during his stay. Training always kept his mind clear, and he wanted to think about anything else but Shepard. He was anxious, he longed to see her again, to talk to her, to laugh with her, to stroke and smell her golden hair, to touch her skin, and to kiss her lips.

 _"No..."_ the Uzumaki reprimanded himself for plunging into those memories; he shook his head and kept punching, this time at a speed that stunned the people in the park.

Having submerged himself in those thoughts made him lose control over his power and make moves he wouldn't have done in normal circumstances.

Fortunately, it hadn't been anything too extravagant, and the suspicious man wasn't anywhere near either. Even so, he slowed down not to attract more attention.

Despite that, he noticed that a blonde little girl in sportswear had approached him. "Wow, how can you throw punches so fast? Are you a professional fighter?"

The Uzumaki smiled to cover up his dismay; he had drawn unnecessary attention because he couldn't control his feelings.

This time, he slowed down even more and answered, "You could say that. My specialty is hand-to-hand combat."

"Are you as strong as James?" the girl continued.

The Namikaze completely stopped, looked at the girl and then at the lieutenant, who had cracked his knuckles for some reason. Perhaps because he had felt interested after seeing him throwing such blows, he surely wanted to prove himself.

"I don't know; I've never seen him fighting."

James came closer. "Then we should try it, right, April?" he asked looking at the blonde girl before looking at the visitor. "What do you say, sir?"

The girl had turned her head to James and then to Naruto, looking at him with a smile that said he had to accept.

The Uzumaki, however, scratched his cheek. "I don't know. Sometimes I can't control my strength." He didn't say it arrogantly; he said it innocently since that was the truth.

Shepard was an example, also when he almost ended up destroying the prison ship Purgatory.

"Oh, you seem very confident of your strength. Now I have more desire to fight against you," the Lieutenant spoke with a smile.

Behind them, his teammates were speaking among themselves. Some of them said that while the visitor was fast, they didn't believe that his fists had the necessary strength because of his body build. While others, like Nicky, said that this speed might be enough to overshadow James' brute strength.

Others thought the same, so they decided to bet on the winner, even though Naruto had not accepted the challenge yet.

The asari anthropologist had approached after observing that much of the colony was heading for the park. She heard them saying that there would be a friendly fight between the 'hero' of the colony and the newcomer.

The asari was somewhat exhausted from her investigations, so she decided to clear her mind by observing the combat.

It was strange that such a trivial spar could attract so many people, but besides the entertainment, something about the visitor attracted the colonists' attention.

They didn't know what it was, but in their hearts, they felt a sense of tranquility and security, though no one mentioned it since it was difficult for them to explain what they felt. Some thought that the Alliance had sent him to help bolster the defenses of the colony.

The audience had formed a great circle among the fighters, who were looking at one another; one of them was excited, while the other one, doubtful.

Naruto finally sighed and stood in his Taijutsu stance. "Okay."

James smiled and stood in a boxing stance, one similar to Shepard's, but with wider openings.

April smiled too, though her smile faded away when she heard her mother's voice shouting from the crowd, telling her to come back. The girl returned to her mother so that she wouldn't scold her.

Before the fight began, the lieutenant expressed when noticing his stance, "It seems like you practice some form of martial arts. Are you from an Asian country? "

"No," Naruto replied. "I just like to use my feet when I fight."

"I see. Sir, if you don't mind, could I ask you a few questions while we're fighting?"

"Call me Menma. I don't like formalities, and feel free to ask all the questions you want," the Uzumaki replied.

"Okay, let's see if you can dance and talk at the same time." He cracked his fingers before throwing a powerful blow to the Namikaze's face, which he blocked with ease.

"I think I can do that," he replied before pushing his hand aside.

"That's what I'm talking about," James added, this time throwing punches that struck with massive force against the fast palms of the Alliance agent.

The colonists were surprised; they thought it was incredible that someone who didn't have James' body build was capable of blocking those blows that would have broken the bones of most of them.

This time, Naruto used his feet to cut the distance, releasing soft but quick punches, which the lieutenant blocked with ease. "These blows won't do it."

"I'm just warming up," the Uzumaki continued with a smile.

Vega smiled back before putting on a serious expression. "Captain Toni hasn't had a chance to ask you this yet." He looked to his left, seeing that the captain had finally arrived; James also saw him asking his companions what was going on.

He looked back to the front and continued. "But I'm sure he wants to. So, why did the Alliance send you here? I don't believe they sent you to check our defenses since it has only been a few weeks since they sent us the anti-ship cannon; we are still installing it. Besides, you don't have the appearance of a mere observer." He threw more blows, which Naruto blocked without sweating.

James's companions paid more attention, especially their captain.

"You're right," Naruto replied, this time throwing blows that weren't so smooth anymore, though they were still not a problem for the Alliance soldier. "They sent me as a reinforcement. We have intelligence that the Blood Pack is planning a rescue mission. You know, to rescue a prisoner who is in this colony."

The murmurs were audible after that statement; several felt concerned when recalling the mercenary attack that took place a few weeks ago.

James noticed that, and this time, he increased the pace. "What makes the Alliance think we are not enough to deal with them?"

Naruto moved his head from side to side to dodge the blows of his opponent. "Nobody doubts your abilities. The Alliance only wants to avoid casualties, especially civilians."

James nodded, and this time he tried to hit his stomach, but the Uzumaki had swung around his fist to get behind him and kick his back with enough force to make him lose balance.

The burly man fell to the ground, but quickly turned back and tried to stand up, only to fall again when his opponent kicked his right cheek.

The colonist and members of his team opened their mouths with concern, as they had seen his head hitting the ground hard and bouncing before hitting it again.

Naruto stepped back to give him space, and James, sore, shook his head and slowly stood up. _"This guy... He could kill me with one of his punches."_ He had finally realized his extraordinary power but also noted that he was holding back. The lieutenant concluded that if he wanted to, then he would have killed him a long time ago.

That didn't frighten him but rather increased his excitement. One could not always meet someone so strong as to kill another human being in one fell swoop, besides a Krogan. This would be a good chance to increase his body's endurance, and James was willing to withstand as many blows as he could.

When he got to his feet, he wiped the blood that fell from the corner of his lips. The lieutenant smiled with emotion before charging toward Naruto, throwing as many blows as he could with his current strength.

The Namikaze sensed what he wanted; if hardening his body through his punches was what he desired, he would gladly give him the blows he was looking for.

Naruto kept dodging his blows for at least two minutes, hearing the words of encouragement from the colonists so that he could manage to connect at least one blow. Those present had already realized that the newcomer was not an ordinary person, so a connected blow would be more than enough to satisfy them.

However, even though the lieutenant tried it and tried it, it was impossible; his opponent was too fast, agile, and perceptive. Nothing that he tried was enough for the newcomer to lower his guard.

Panting between blows, the lieutenant asked, "You're not a normal soldier. Are you N7?" He had all the skills of one; maybe that was the reason why there was so much difference between them.

His companions only now considered that option, while the colonists ignored the meaning of that rank. Nevertheless, a quick explanation from Kamille to one of the colonists spread the information to everyone and they finally understood why the hero of the colony was having so many problems.

The statement of the Alliance supervisor, however, took them by surprise. "No, I'm not..." He dodged another blow and used a counter to strike James's chin, which almost knocked him out.

His determination was the only thing that separated him from the real world and the dream world; he shook his head and continued his assault.

Naruto once again moved from side to side, continuing his statement, "I am part of a new branch of the Alliance. It's relatively new, but much more demanding than N7."

James raised an eyebrow. "More demanding? I've never heard of anything like that before. What do they call themselves? "

"It's classified information."

"Classified?" Vega asked in surprise, throwing punches that were getting weaker.

"Think about the number of people who graduated from the N7 program, and why some of them are unable to graduate. Now, think the same thing in a more demanding test..."

James thought of the casualties and concluded that, perhaps, the Alliance was still analyzing the viability of this new program. If the casualties were greater than the N7 program and the graduates obviously lower, it was reasonable to think that the Alliance didn't want people to know about it and register to participate in something that could be their death sentence.

Understanding it, the lieutenant continued, "So, how many more people have graduated from that program?"

Naruto looked at him with a serious expression. "I'm the only one, the rest are dead. As you'll see, that's why the Alliance doesn't want anyone to know about this. We can't afford to lose more soldiers, especially after the Battle of the Citadel."

Everything he had said was a lie, but he had to stay in character. In addition, although such a program was non-existent, Naruto intended to create it when the Galactic Alliance was instituted. However, that would have to wait until all sides reached an agreement.

"Well, it must be hard to know that you're the only one who's survived," James continued, covering his face with his large arms to avoid being knocked out.

Naruto, however, hit the places he had left unprotected, leaving painful bruises. "Maybe...," he replied, increasing the speed of his fists, which made it look as if they were several, each mercilessly hitting the body of the burly man.

The public was surprised, but also worried; they didn't believe that he would kill him, but they thought that he could hurt him severely.

For this reason, Captain Toni stepped forward to stop the battle but stopped when seeing the newcomer taking a step back.

"Interesting," 'Menma' spoke with a smile on his face. "You're still awake despite those blows; anyone else would have been unconscious."

This time, everyone saw that James' legs staggered uncontrollably, and he had finally dropped to his knees, panting because of the pain he felt in each of his muscles. _"This guy..."_ The lieutenant thought in shock as he slowly raised his head, _"Is not a human being."_ He didn't feel fear, surprise only because he couldn't believe that a human being could throw such strong blows without armor.

Actually, he didn't believe that he wasn't a human; it was just a statement to explain the precedence of such unusual power.

The rest of the soldiers approached him, helped him to get to his feet, and watched with surprise at the marks of punches that he had around his body. The fact that he was still awake after such a brutal beating was a remarkable feat.

Naruto didn't think he went over the top; moreover, he thought he held back more than his clone that trained with Shepard did. That was what the Uzumaki believed, but the truth was that his punches had equal or even more force; in the only thing that held back was in the display of his Taijutsu.

As the Namikaze saw that they were going to take him away, he looked toward the crowd, specifically towards the man with the cap, who was looking at him in surprise.

He stopped staring at him since he heard the lieutenant's gasping voice. "W-Wait." His friends stopped and turned him toward the visitor.

"Do you need something, James?" Naruto asked.

The man smiled. "Not really, I just wanted to thank you. I wanted you to beat me up, and that's what you did."

"The expression on your face couldn't make me think otherwise," he paused and saw him nodding. "Like I said, anyone else would have been unconscious. Therefore, when I return to Earth, I will speak to Admiral Hackett so that they can consider you in the program that I mentioned. You have the skills to try it, but of course, you'll have the last word."

"I appreciate the offer, but right now, I feel at ease in this place. I still have no intention of leaving." He said this as he subtly looked at the anthropologist, who watched him with concern.

Naruto understood his motives, so he wouldn't try to pressure him. "Okay, but the offer is there, as long as you have the intention to improve. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll go for a ride."

James tried to salute him, but couldn't muster the strength to raise his arm. Instead, he just nodded and watched him walk away.

The crowd finally dispersed, and James' worried mates carried him to the infirmary as they asked him how the blows of that strange man felt, questions to which he could only respond with a sore smile; he had reached his limit, after all.

Meanwhile, the Cerberus operative was moving into an area where he could get in touch with the Collectors. _"This guy gives me a bad feeling._ _What if they sent him for 'it'?"_ he reflected as the image of a golden artifact came to his mind.

He walked to the forest, feeling that the temperature had dropped considerably. It was unusual since the climate of this planet was tropical.

He brought his hands close to his mouth and tried to warm them with his breath as he looked sideways, now noticing that a mist slowly covered the area.

 _"W-What's going on?"_ he thought, scared; this time stopping, as he felt that something was stalking him.

"Who's there?!" he yelled, turning from side to side, but he was unable to see anything due to the thick fog.

"Messner..." a voice resounded in the forest.

The owner of that name almost jumped, scared, but he continued on, alert, looking from side to side in case he had to defend himself.

"I know what your intentions are, Messner," the voice continued, this time whispering into the ear of the scared man.

That person fell to the ground due to the shock, backing away with his hands since he thought that this person was going to appear, but he hadn't seen anyone yet.

"W-Who are you? W-What do you want?" he asked, and it was then when he saw him.

His eyes widened, because, out of nowhere, a blond man with whisker marks materialized right in front of him, making him release a muffled scream.

Terrified due to the lack of sound, he tried to take his hands to his neck, but this time he encountered the inability of moving even his own limbs.

His eyes moved as never before, not wanting to make contact with those blue eyes that seemed to look through his soul.

However, it was inevitable, since his visual organ had frozen exactly forward, making contact with those terrifying eyes.

He couldn't ask, investigate, or even beg; he could only wait for this enigmatic individual to tell him what he wanted.

He saw him turning around, raising his fingers and moving them forward, which made Messner's body float toward him and follow his footsteps.

The heart of the 'merchant' throbbed with such force that it seemed to burst out of his chest. He felt a suffocating, unbearable, maddening pressure.

"You know? I should kill you right now and save myself the trouble," he bluntly spoke, continuing his walk.

The Cerberus operative lips quivered, but he couldn't open his mouth because of an invisible aura that surrounded him.

"But you're lucky; killing people is no longer one of my hobbies. So…" The Uzumaki stopped, dropped his captive, and turned to him.

The man finally regained control over his limbs. He promptly turned around and ran toward the colony, but he stopped abruptly when the strange man appeared before him.

He cried out in fear, and this time, he ran in another direction, but Naruto reappeared before him, this time moving his fingers down, forcing Messner to get to his knees. "Still."

"W-What do you want?" The scared man cautiously asked.

"Good thing you ask." With that said, the blond man snapped his fingers, changing the surroundings.

Now they were on another planet, watching an image of Messer and several Cerberus' soldiers picking up a golden colored alien artifact, and putting said device in a shuttle before leaving the planet.

 _"W-What?"_ the man thought in confusion, wondering how they were able to see this memory. He didn't ask because the blond man had mysteriously disappeared.

Then he saw a picture of his arrival in the colony and subsequent installation of that same device in a remote area of the planet's forest.

The vision stopped, and this time he could see the serious expression of the blond man.

"I-I can explain it," he tried to excuse himself.

"You don't have to, I know it all... Jack Harper, you've deceived me," he muttered the latter.

Now he knew the truth; it wasn't true that Messner was indoctrinated and that the Illusive Man had informed them of the events because of that.

The truth was that Jack Harper knew he wasn't indoctrinated; actually, he gave this man the location of the alien artifact and sent him to this colony.

What Naruto didn't know was why he had told them; if he didn't, then the mission would have continued and he would have obtained whatever he was looking for. Maybe he said it because of the Hiraishin mark and the fear of what Naruto could do if he found out what happened in this colony.

The immortal man would ask him those questions when this mission finished, right now he had to deal with the person before him.

Therefore, he shook his head and stepped forward, causing the operative to step back in a desperate attempt to keep him away.

Knowing that he would attempt to flee again, Naruto appeared in front of him and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt to raise him up to his height.

Messer shook his legs, but he could do nothing as he slowly felt his whole body going numb.

Since he stood still, Naruto spoke, "I won't kill you, but some would call this immoral. Although it will be better than death."

"No! Please no! Don't do it!" In his mind was the idea that he would incapacitate him with his biotic powers; he would rather die than be handicapped.

The Uzumaki ignored him and proceeded with his action. His eyes glittered, and the man's too, expanding itself into a beam of light that quickly enveloped Messner and disappeared as soon as it had appeared.

Naruto released him, and Messner fell to his knees, coughing loudly as he tried to recognize the surroundings, but it was difficult because everything looked bright.

His eyes slowly recovered their focus, seeing that someone in a blue uniform had knelt in front of him. "Hey, are you okay?"

He looked at the source and recognized the man that the Alliance had sent. "You... What am I doing here?" Messner growled at the end because of a severe headache.

"I don't know; I was walking around here and then I saw you collapsing. Do you have any illness?" He held out his hand and helped him to get to his feet.

Messner shook his head due to the pain, but then in denial. "No, I don't... Wait, I remember what I was doing here." He almost bit his tongue at the end because he had almost unveiled a 'secret' that could make him end up in a dark and cold prison of the Alliance.

'Menma', noticing his silence, stepped back and revealed a slight excavation where a bright object protruded. "You were trying to extract that, am I right?" he asked, pointing to the mysterious protruding brightness.

The brunette felt nervous, but he couldn't say anything before the Alliance soldier knelt down and looked at the excavation. "Let's see what we have here." He pretended that he was examining it, making a surprised gesture after 'discovering' what it was.

"I see; this is a precious mineral. Were you trying to extract it without permission? Did you not know that all natural resources found on a planet colonized by humans belong to the Alliance and their removal without authorization is a crime? Do you know what that means?"

"Please, don't send me to prison. Yes, it's true; I was trying to extract it. However, it wasn't for my benefit," Messner excused himself with a nervous expression.

"Uh? What do you mean?" the dark-haired man questioned.

The brunette sighed. "I came to this planet with the intention of raising some money for the orphanage where I grew up; I wanted to give them something back as my thanks. It was then when I found it and I thought that I could get some money."

"Earth orphanages are financed by the Alliance; you don't have to do anything," the 'soldier' stated.

"That's true, but not all orphanages receive the same funding. Therefore, I wanted to help in this way. Please, let me take it and you'll never see me again." He got to his knees and begged with his hands.

Naruto sighed. "Okay. Take it and get out of here. However, if anyone asks, you never saw me. Do you understand?"

"Will you really let me take it, just like that?" He asked as he stood up.

"Don't you want it?"

"I do! I want it!" he replied and saw Naruto stepping aside so that he could finish digging.

The Uzumaki had changed his way of thinking, morals, and even part of his past. He had turned him into an affable man at the expense of his free will; for this reason, he said that it was immoral. However, as he had said it, it was that or death.

The Jinchūriki had also created the diamond that he was digging and just added a nonexistent memory in his head, where he had been digging to extract it.

When the 'kind' man finally extracted it, Naruto told him to keep it and leave the planet as soon as possible, and to keep a low profile for now on.

Messner thanked him and returned to the colony to prepare pack his belongings, few as they were.

Meanwhile, Naruto took a more serious expression and disappeared in a yellow flash, reappearing in the place where Messner had placed the alien artifact.

"So this is it," the Namikaze whispered, watching the golden object that transmitted signals to the Collectors.

He touched the artifact and felt the signals that it transmitted, which mostly got lost in nothingness. He now knew that the Illusive Man had ordered his scientists to modify the device so that Messner could increase or decrease the intensity of the signals in order to study the reaction of the Collectors when they noticed these constant changes in the levels of intensity.

"Okay, it's time to end this." He decided to increase the intensity of the signals to the maximum since he wanted the Collectors to arrive as soon as possible. The faster this ended, the sooner he could return to his main mission, which was to prepare the galaxy for the impending invasion.

If his calculations were correct, the Collectors wouldn't take more than three days to show up. Meanwhile, one of his clones he had already sent would help Shepard in whatever she needed.

He took his hand away from the golden object and stood up, turning around to return to the colony.

Cerberus Headquarters

On the infirmary of the space station, Jack Harper was lying down on an operations bed, accompanied by a group of his scientists, who were doing tests to his body to determine what Naruto had put inside him.

"We will have the results in just a moment, sir. Just wait for us here," one of the scientists spoke after completing the tests, taking off from his leader's body the instruments that they've used to perform the tests.

The Illusive Man nodded, got up, received his shirt from another of his scientists and put it on as he watched them leaving the room to analyze the results.

He didn't feel frightened by what he had inside, rather curious, but also anxious. If they were able to determine how Naruto was able to locate him and teleport wherever he was, then he could use that knowledge for humanity, and his organization.

After a few minutes, his scientists returned, and the Illusive Man asked, "Did you find anything?"

"We are sorry, sir. We could not determine how that man is able to locate you without using a beacon. However, we've noticed a strange anomaly in this place..." a scientist replied as he showed him an X-ray of his brain. "Here, right in the middle."

"Is it operable?" he asked as he lit one of his cigarettes.

The scientists looked at each other, and one of them replied, "We can't. We have never seen such a strange energy before." This time, they showed him a graph of the composition of his body, showing a peak that revealed that mysterious energy.

"So what do you propose?" the Cerberus leader questioned.

"Well, it's hard to say, sir. It's a mysterious energy, but if you could make that man repeat what he did, but to an inanimate object, then we would be able to study it more accurately. Although there's your idea too, sir. We believe that would be the most appropriate one, but also the riskiest."

**Mass Effect 2: The Illusive Suite**

The Illusive Man rubbed his temple. "There's no other way... Kai Leng..."

In the darkest corner of the room, an Asian man with an ostentatious armor and a sharp Ninjato, which was tied on the back of his hip, suddenly appeared after turning off his camouflage. "Yes, sir?" the man asked.

"I have a mission ready for you. Follow me." The Illusive Man rose from the bed, gestured with his hands and walked to his office.

When both arrived, Jack Harper sat at his desk, and Kai Leng waited for the details of his mission.

"I guess you're aware of the situation," the Illusive Man spoke while obtaining the relevant data he had on Naruto from his console.

"I heard something," the cold Cerberus operative replied as he unsheathed his Ninjato and looked at it.

"What did you hear?" his boss asked him with a look of interest.

Kai Leng sheathed his sword and stepped forward. "About a man who came from another galaxy and has joined Shepard's team."

Jack nodded, giving a drag on his cigarette before leaving it on the ashtray. "Do you know anything about his skills?"

"Just enough. Does my mission has anything to do with this man?" he answered, now interested.

The Illusive Man didn't answer, instead, he handed him a tablet with all the information he needed.

Kai Leng read it carefully, and at the end, a light laugh escaped from his lips. "This sounds like a suicide mission."

The leader of Cerberus raised an eyebrow. "Do you think it will be impossible for you?"

His soldier laughed again, this time putting the tablet on the desk. "Difficult, not impossible."

"That's what I wanted to hear. Now, some caveats."

Kai Leng just nodded, standing firmly.

"Don't give him reasons to be suspicious of you; always keep a low profile. Don't be hasty; take all the time you need. Otherwise, Naruto will discover all your plans because he is an individual who can read the minds of any being that is around him, that and more. However, I suspect that he won't do it if you don't give him reasons to." He grabbed his cigarette and took a drag.

The Cerberus operative nodded and said, "That's vital information. However, I'll make sure to keep my mind blank at all times."

"All precautionary measures would be prudent. Do it, but I can't promise that it'll be effective. Now, I will tell you something that you may not like... You must follow Shepard's orders, all of them."

Kai Leng growled and unsheathed his Ninjato to examine it again. "It's true; I don't like that." This time, he performed some cuts in the air as he continued, "Taking orders from someone with a level lower than mine..."

"It is true, but it is for the success of the mission, and, above all, for your safety. Your skills are remarkable, and I'm not in the position of losing you. If the mission is successful, then you could become the first human being in this galaxy capable of controlling this mysterious energy, increasing your skills to a degree never before seen. You would become the future of mankind."

The assassin stopped, sheathed his Ninjato and knelt down before the Illusive Man. "I won't fail."

"Very well," the leader spoke, this time looking at his console to convey some information that he had planned to give Shepard when he had the time to speak to her. "You will go as soon as possible to Horizon. It seems that the Collectors are about to attack the colony. We will drop you out in a remote area to avoid the seeker swarms; I'll let you know when Shepard arrives at the location so that you can join her in her mission; it'll be a good opportunity to show off your skills."

Kai Leng asked, "Hmm, do you think she'll let me join, just like that?"

"I'll make Shepard aware of the situation; you don't have to talk to her if you don't want to. Now, go and get that DNA sample." He made a sign with his fingers toward the exit, seeing his best soldier nodding and becoming invisible to get out of there.

When the Illusive Man was alone, he rose from his seat and turned around to look at the star that was close to his space station. _"If the mission fails, I wouldn't be surprised if my life comes to an end. However, I must take this risk; for the future of humanity."_

He turned around and returned to his desk, this time to prepare himself to talk with Shepard.

Aboard the Normandy

A more than smiling Commander Shepard opened her eyes after a very relaxing break. She rose from her bed, stretching her body with that smile that wouldn't leave her face.

She didn't know the cause of such a gesture, but it wasn't as if she cared. She assumed it was because of Naruto's healing ability that provided that relaxing feeling.

She went to her bathroom and took a quick shower before deciding to have breakfast. She thought about the Illusive Man's dossier and the person she would recruit next. Maybe she would make a stop at Illium to meet the assassin named Thane Krios.

Then she thought of that hellish hen and the beating she would give her today. When thinking of beatings, she recalled the one that Naruto gave her yesterday; she had no doubts that he was a man out of this world, or rather, of this galaxy.

She didn't remember anything of what had happened later, but she felt that something interesting had happened while she was unconscious. What was it? Did it have to do with her current mood?

She shook her head; maybe she was just making things up. Naruto had healed her, carried her to her bed, and then he left; nothing else could have happened.

Not wanting to think about it, she released a sigh and opened the elevator door to go to the dining room, but before setting foot inside, she heard EDI's voice through the speakers. **"Commander Shepard, the Illusive Man requests your presence in the communications room. He has urgent information."**

This time the, blonde-haired woman sighed with annoyance; breakfast would have to wait temporarily. "I'm going," she replied and entered the elevator, this time toward the CIC.

There, Kelly also informed her that the Illusive Man wanted to talk to her, and the commander thanked her for the information.

She walked toward the communications room, passing by the laboratory, where she saw that Naruto and Mordin were looking at the insect of the collectors that they had captured.

"What are you guys doing?" She asked as she walked toward them.

Mordin stepped back and replied, "Good news. Antidote obtained. Administration and testing required. Perhaps in our next stop."

"Excellent, this will definitely be helpful. Did Naruto help you?" she asked with a questioning expression.

Before the salarian could say anything, the blond man spoke, "No, I was just watching him. He finished his research while you were sleeping. By the way, did you rest well?" He asked with a smile after recalling the fight he had through the other clone.

Shepard smiled back. "Considering the beating you gave me yesterday and that I got up without feeling any pain, I would say it was the best sleep I had in my life. Anyway, I have to talk to 'Jack'."

"I'll go with you." The Jinchūriki stepped forward, seeing Shepard nodding. Then he looked at the scientist and asked, "Will you not come, Mordin?"

"No. Very busy. I must synthesize the sample and mass-produce it for the rest of the crew. Recommend the commander to inform him." He returned to his desk to begin the preparations to mass-produce the antidote.

The blond man shrugged, said goodbye, and followed Shepard to the communications room, closer to her than usual. The clone knew that he shouldn't give her grounds to think he was falling for her, but it was hard to avoid it after so many years without feeling something like it.

When they entered the room, the table went down and both stood on the platform, waiting for the scanner that would project them to the Illusive Man's location.

As soon as they saw him, that man exclaimed. "Shepard! And Naruto... I think we have them. Horizon, one of our colonies in the Terminus Systems, just went silent. If it isn't under attack, it soon will be. Has Mordin delivered the countermeasure for the seeker swarms?"

"Yes, he has. Now it is in the production stage."

"Excellent, then you should go to Horizon as soon as possible. Now, there's something else you should know," he paused and took a drag on his cigarette. "One of your former crew, Kaidan Alenko, is stationed on Horizon." He put his cigarette in the ashtray and waited for her response.

That name caught Shepard's attention; the last time she saw him was when they were evacuating the Normandy SR-1 due to the attack of the Collector ship.

"Last I knew, Kaidan was Alliance. Why is he out in the Terminus Systems?"

"Officially, it's an outreach program to improve Alliance relations with the colonies. But they're up to something. And if they sent Commander Alenko, it must be big. I suggest you take it up with him."

The blonde-haired woman raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "The Collectors just happened to pick a colony with one of my former crew? I don't buy it."

"Cautious as ever. But it shouldn't be a surprise the Collectors are interested in you. Especially if they're working for the Reapers. They may be going after him to get you."

"He's right," Naruto added. "It could be a trap. We should ask for help from the Alliance. Maybe they could send some dreadnoughts."

Shepard nodded, agreeing with him. She knew he said that because he didn't want to get involved in missions where the Collectors were. He had already made clear why he didn't want the Reapers to know that he was in this galaxy.

Perhaps it would be better if they found out and that prevented the invasion; that would save billions of lives. However, Naruto would leave, and she never would never see him again. Besides, the Reapers would eventually return.

This was the moment; they had to get ready and finish them now so that future generations wouldn't need to fear an exterminator of organic life that lurked in dark space.

She was about to express her consent, but Harper spoke before she could, "I wouldn't want the Alliance's involvement in this, but it seems that you two have already been in contact with Admiral Hackett and he has shown willingness to cooperate with us. Therefore, I won't say anything if you request the Alliance's help." He grabbed his cigarette and smoked it again.

The blonde-haired woman nodded. "Then it's decided. Send the coordinates; we'll head straight there."

The Illusive Man looked at his console and pressed a few buttons. "There. Now, one last thing before you go."

Shepard told him to continue, and the leader of Cerberus chose his words carefully not to make Naruto suspicious. "I've sent one of my operatives to Horizon. You might find him there and he'll help you on your mission. I'll be honest; this man's abilities far exceed yours, so I thought it would be appropriate if he helped you in this task."

"Oh?" Shepard asked with a smile. "His abilities far exceed mine? If that were the case, why didn't you choose him to destroy the Collectors?"

Harper put his cigarette down in the ashtray. "Because, unfortunately, he doesn't have the charisma or the patience that you have. He wouldn't have been able to inspire others to carry out a mission like this one. He's not a born leader as you are; he's a person who excels when not having to worry about such things. However, if you don't believe me, you'll be able to see his skills once you arrive at Horizon. Believe me; you'll be surprised."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes and the blond man smiled, giving her no time to express her opinion. "I hope that's true." He turned his head toward her, and she to him. "I want to meet someone besides me who can make you sweat; that will make you improve in a shorter period of time."

He paused, and this time looked at the Cerberus' leader. "Since he works for you, I guess he's already aware of me. Therefore, I would like to 'play' a little bit with him when we finish this particular mission. What do you say, Jack Harper? Will you let me play with your toy?"

Although he didn't show it, the Illusive Man felt relieved; he didn't make him suspicious, and what was better, he was willing to let Shepard test her skills with Kai Leng.

He didn't care what Naruto did with him, as he was sure that he wouldn't kill him if he didn't give him reason to. "Go ahead; you can have fun with him. Moreover, I think he will like the experience of measuring himself against you. "

Shepard sighed. "Well, well. That sounds interesting, but I think we should go ahead; the Collectors won't wait for us, and we also have to tell the Admiral."

"I understand, Shepard," the Illusive Man replied. "You're free to go. Good luck." With that said, he cut the connection.

The blonde woman looked at the ceiling of the ship and said, "Joker, set a course for Horizon and inform the crew; I want everyone to get ready. Everyone will go to this mission."

"Aye, aye, Commander," the pilot's voice replied.

Both blondes then turned around and proceeded to leave the room. As they left, the Uzumaki asked with a questioning expression, "Everyone? Strange, you've never taken more than two people to your missions."

"Well, it's easier to maintain order if the groups are not very large. However, this mission warrants it. I'm sure that you won't use your crazy skills, so I'll need all the firepower that I can get to save the colony. Now let's go and see if Mordin already has the countermeasure ready for all of us."

They didn't say anything else and walked to the laboratory, where they saw Mordin placing on his desk several syringes with a green liquid.

"I guess they're ready," the Commander sensed.

The salarian replied, "Correct. Necessary adjustments finished. Effectiveness assured. We can complete the mission without worrying about the swarms."

"Well, get ready and meet in the communications room. EDI, tell the others I want to see them there too; I'll go and get ready in my cabin. Naruto, I'll see you there."

EDI, Naruto, and Mordin gave affirmative answers, and the last ones walked to the communications room to wait for the others.

The first ones to arrive were Jacob and Miranda, who greeted the two who were already there.

Then Zaeed and Jack approached; both just looked at the others before approaching the corners of the room.

Kasumi and Garrus came together, greeting the others before approaching the table.

The only one who didn't come was Grunt since it hadn't been long since he left the tank and still didn't feel ready to go on a mission.

Taking advantage of the fact that that Shepard hadn't arrived yet, the thief tried to convince Naruto to make a 'visit' to an art exhibition that would be held at the Citadel, but the blond man apologetically told her that he wasn't interested.

The hooded woman had no choice but to sigh in defeat and return to the table, waiting for the Commander's arrival.

A few minutes had passed, and there were still no signs of her. The silence became uncomfortable, and to break the ice, Zaeed asked while looking at Naruto, "Is it true that you kicked the shit out of Shepard?"

No one knew that; Zaeed did because he was in the same section of the ship as Jack, and she had told him the details.

Kasumi spoke, "If that were true, then Shepard would be knackered." She remembered the day when she saw Naruto in action for the first time -when he nearly destroyed the prison ship Purgatory with a single punch.

Garrus leaned against the wall, folded his arms and closed his eyes. "I think he used his healing ability. Doctor Chakwas told me he did the same with me when I boarded the ship."

Everyone looked at the turian before turning back to Naruto, who scratched his head. "Yes, he's correct. We had a fight, a bit challenging for people who aren't used to Shinobi fights. But with enough practice, your bodies will get used to it."

"Hmm, why does it sound as if you want us to train with you?" the turian added, looking at the smiling expression of the immortal man.

"Hey... Are you really thinking...?" Jack questioned somewhat intimidated, even more so after hearing him chuckling and closing his eyes, which made Subject Zero shake her head. "No way. I'm sorry, but my specialty isn't hand-to-hand combat. Give me a target and I'll crush it with my biotic powers."

The biotics in the room agreed with her words, but Jacob felt interested in the idea of learning martial arts. If he could combine it with his biotic attacks, his combat capability would increase considerably.

Those who didn't have any knowledge in the art of biotics sweated slightly while pulling at their shirt collars their shirts collar.

None of them knew Naruto very well, but they did know that he wasn't someone who would abandon his ideas on a whim.

The Jinchūriki laughed innocently. "Well, I won't force you to do something you don't want to do. However, it could be very rewarding..."

"What do you mean?" Miranda questioned.

The Uzumaki turned his head toward her. "I will reward those who manage to complete the training."

"How?" Massani asked out of curiosity.

"What if I give you the parts that you need to restore your beloved 'Jessie'?"

Zaeed had told him the story about his faithful M-8 Avenger, about how the ongoing years and battles had punished her, besides his odyssey to find parts for a weapon that the Alliance no longer produced.

"You must be kidding me. Her pieces are almost impossible to get, I already told you."

The blond man chuckled and clasped his hands, causing them to glow inside, which made everyone pay attention to him.

"Come," the Uzumaki spoke without revealing what he had in his hands.

Zaeed did it cautiously because one couldn't know what the immortal man would do next. When he was standing before him, the blond man asked him to pay attention.

The mercenary sighed and looked down, noting that the Jinchūriki slowly opened his hands, revealing something that Zaeed had instantly recognized. "A thermal capacitor! Where the hell did you get it?"

"Hehe, do you want it?"

"Hell yes! I had planned to spend the money from this mission on that thing. Do you have an idea of the fortune it costs? Give it to me!" He tried to snatch it from his hands, but Naruto had disappeared and reappeared beside Kasumi, who jumped back from surprise.

"Hey, you did it again," she scolded with folded arms as she looked at Naruto. It was the second time he did this to her, the first time being when they were at the dining table and he asked her to teach him to cook.

"I'm sorry, Kasumi-chan," he apologized, looking at her with a smile.

"Don't 'chan' me," she corrected him, not because she was upset, but because she didn't like that suffix.

The Uzumaki just smiled, and the mercenary approached him again. "Come on; give it to me, please," he asked as gently as he could.

Naruto smiled and held out his hand. "Take it."

Zaeed didn't need to hear anything else as he snatched it from his hand, smiling as he gently pressed the precious object in his hand. "Yes! Just wait, Jessie; I'll soon fix you!" He raised his hand, smiling with pure emotion.

He lowered his hand to look at his precious treasure, unable to contain the giggle that escaped from his lips.

When his hand was up to his chest, he slowly opened it to enjoy the vision. However, great was his surprise, and even greater his desperation when noticing that the precious item was no longer in his hand. "Hey? Where did it go?" He believed that he had dropped it, so he knelt down to look around the floor.

Jack chuckled. "Don't bother, you won't find it... you dummy."

"What?!" Zaeed exclaimed, turning to her.

Mordin spoke, "Predictable result. Training in exchange for the item. Requirements were not met."

Zaeed angrily growled and stood up, spitting on the floor before returning to his corner. "I didn't want it, anyways."

The group laughed, which promptly stopped when they heard Miranda's serious voice. "The commander is taking too long. Joker, how much longer until we reach our destination?"

"In about fifteen minutes," the pilot replied.

"It's true, she's taken too long," the shadow clone spoke, putting his fingers on his chin. "I'll investigate."

"Why don't you read her miiiiind?" Kasumi gloomily spoke, moving her fingers in the same way.

Naruto smiled as he floated toward the ceiling. "Shepard told me not to do that anymore. I decided to respect the privacy of others. Although it's a little too late for you, guys; I already know your secrets…" This time he looked at each of them, chuckling because of their surprised expressions.

He didn't let them say anything about it since he continued as he crossed the ship's ceiling. "Anyway, keep in mind what I said; it'll be exciting. See you in a few minutes."

When Naruto disappeared, people in the room looked at each other in silence, contemplating the last thing he had said.

Jack finally broke the silence. "Well, will any of you train with that madman?"

Most of them had looks of doubt, and others seemed to have already taken a decision. One of these people was Jacob, who stepped forward. "I'll do it. I'm interested in what he can teach us, and besides, I want to know if I can do it."

"Then prepare to die," Zaeed added.

"I don't think he'll go that far," Jacob replied. "But if I get to a point that I can no longer proceed, then I will resign. I would rather try it than saying no and look like a coward." He didn't say that with the intention of offending anyone, he just thought that.

Some of them reevaluated their decisions, and as they did, the next one to give a statement was the salarian scientist. "So will I."

Everyone looked at him, surprised that a person, who didn't look like someone who enjoyed training, was one of the first ones to accept.

Kasumi spoke puzzled, "Really, you? I thought scientists didn't like the idea of training."

"Correct. I wouldn't have taken such a decision in another situation, but he promised to reward those who complete his training. I will take this opportunity to get his body's tissues."

They wouldn't argue what were his reasons to get such thing, but as he was a scientist, they assumed that it was for the desire of discovering the unknown.

They heard a sigh and looked at the one responsible for that sound. It was Garrus, who had crossed his arms as he stared at the ceiling. "I think I'll regret it, but I'll do it as well, and eventually, all of you will do it too."

"And what makes you think that?" Zaeed inquired with crossed arms.

Garrus seriously replied, "Naruto is like Shepard; both of them have that spark that drives you to make the most unthinkable actions. I've known Shepard for a good time, and I can easily recognize those of her kind since there aren't many like her."

Those words reminded Miranda the talk she had with the immortal man a few days ago; she wasn't the only one who had noticed it. However, she said nothing, just like the others; they simply waited for the arrival of both blondes.

Moments earlier, in the captain's cabin, Shepard had been talking with the ship's Artificial Intelligence about something that happened yesterday.

"Did Naruto really do that, EDI?" She was sitting on her bed, confused, but also excited by the revelation she had heard.

**"That's correct, Commander."**

She stood up from her bed, walked around her room with a smile before stopping to look with a serious expression at the ceiling of the ship. "Why are you telling me this? Don't you think about the privacy of others?"

**"My programming gives priority to the crew's health, both physically and mentally. My scanners detected that you have been under constant stress since you and Naruto-san had those personal conversations. For you to be in optimal conditions for the next mission, I decided to inform you of the events of the previous day. My sensors indicate that it has worked since your stress levels have never been so low."**

The commander blushed slightly. "I see, however, don't ever do anything like that again."

**"I'll keep that in mind, Commander."**

When the conversation ended, Shepard walked back to the edge of her bed and sat down on it, bringing her fingers to her lips. "Why? Why did he do that?"

This time she raised both hands and placed the tips of her fingers over her eyes as she lay down. _"I must be dreaming,"_ she thought just as her head made contact with the soft mattress of her bed, smiling like a teenager who had declared their love and got a positive response.

She took her hands away from her face and abruptly stood up. "But what will I do?" She asked herself, taking her fingers on her chin.

While she was excited about the idea that there was a possibility that Naruto felt something for her, insisting could only complicate matters to the point where she forced the immortal man to return to his galaxy.

Shepard didn't want that to happen; she needed him, no, this galaxy needed him. Without him, defeating the Reapers would be an almost impossible task.

However, much of her told her to keep insisting, to take the risk and push Naruto to the point where he confessed his true feelings. That part of her also told her that, thanks to her previous advances, the Uzumaki had gone so far as to kiss her.

She shook her head and hit her cheeks; she had forgotten why she had come to her cabin. Lives were at stake, her priority was the colony on Horizon; she would have more time to think about this when they saved the colony.

She swung around to walk to her closet and grab her armor but stopped when she saw that unusual hen on her bed, looking at her with a grave expression.

"You... How long," the commander asked, making cautious moves to not annoy her, not because she was afraid, but because she was about to go on an important mission.

 **"Just enough, human..."** Her voice was cold, it nearly sounded like that of a killer.

An unusual expression because the blonde woman didn't believe she had done anything to incur her wrath. "I'm sorry, but I can't play with you. I'm about to go on an important mission, we'll leave it for later."

She tried to walk to her closet, but Mendori had appeared in front of her and did a dangerous advance that the commander dodged instinctively.

 **"The feelings that you think you've discovered; you'll forget them now."** Her gaze grew colder, and her voice sounded more threatening.

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, looking sideways to try to avoid this talk. The commander knew what she meant, but she didn't want to discuss it with a talking animal.

 **"Human, don't you dare question my intelligence. You know very well what I mean,"** she spoke so seriously that she had not even cackled once **.**

Shepard frowned. "I think I'm old enough to handle this situation. So, if you'll excuse me, I have to go on a mission."

 **"Insolent human! You don't understand anything!"** The hen abruptly interrupted, stopping Shepard in her place.

The blonde woman carefully observed, watching her put on an expression that conveyed an amount of hatred that she had not seen even in her greatest enemies.

The hen finally said, giving vent to her anger. **"You humans always think alike! You are a race of selfish beings who cannot think of anyone but yourselves! That's why you're so insignificant; that's why you humans are so insignificant!"**

Shepard sighed. "Look, I really don't have time for this. I would like to prove you wrong, but I've lost a lot of time and I have to hurry. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

She was unable to finish because she had to step back to avoid a blow that Mendori had tried to give her in one of her legs. When the Commander was at a safe distance, she heard the hen. **"You don't understand, do you?"**

Shepard kept silent, ready for another possible attack that could leave her incapacitated for the impending mission.

As she received no reply, the hen continued, **"Do you think it was easy for him to live this long? Everything that has sacrificed, the pain he has endured, do you have any idea what that means? "**

How could she know? She didn't even know anyone who was two thousand years old, much less someone who was close to a hundred thousand. Because of her ignorance, she decided to remain silent.

 **"It's because of your ignorance that I cannot allow you to continue confusing Naruto-sama. Whatever you think he has done is irrelevant; from now on, you won't make any more advances, is that clear?"** she asked with a glare.

"What will happen if it's not?" she inquired with a defiant expression.

Mendori stepped forward and stated, **"I will kill you…"**

The commander crossed her arms. "Kill me? Come on; bring it on." This time, she moved her arms toward herself, as if she were accepting the challenge. "My only warning is that I won't fall without fight." Her words sounded determined, and her eyes looked sharp.

Both stood in battle stances, ready to fight to the death if necessary. "Just let me ask you one last thing...," the commander added, looking with attention to the dangerous animal.

Mendori allowed her to express herself; she would give her that favor before giving her a beating that she would never forget.

"If Naruto were the one who does that which you don't want me to do, then what would you do?"

 **"In that case, I will accept the wishes of my creator. But don't kid yourself, human; that won't happen."** Given her response, she charged forward to start the attack.

The blonde woman took a defensive stance; however, she didn't need to do anything else because both of them stopped when they noticed traces of blond hair emerging from the ground, right between them.

They knew who it was, so both shared one last look of contempt before adopting calmer positions.

The person emerged with a smile on his face that quickly changed to a questioning expression and a raised eyebrow when feeling the heavy and nearly deadly pressure in the room.

He didn't say anything about it since his creation said, **"Naruto-sama *cluck*, as always, it is an honor to see you so radiant."**

Shepard rolled her eyes, while the Uzumaki gestured with his hands. "Ah, you make me blush, Mendori-chan," he joked.

The animal didn't say anything else; she just bowed before vanishing in the air, waiting for the right time to continue her conversation with Shepard.

When Mendori had left, Naruto put on a more serious expression as he heard Shepard sigh. "What happened here?" he inquired.

The commander sighed and walked to her locker to grab her armor. "Nothing, it's just that your little creation can get pretty intense sometimes. She just wanted to test me before going to the mission." She opened the door of her closet, took the parts of her armor, approached her bed and sat down on it to put it on.

The immortal man could read her like an open book; he could feel the lies and doubt in her voice. However, he said nothing about it because he didn't want to disturb her before her mission.

The woman put on all the parts of her armor with the exception of her helmet. "Let's go," the commander said, grabbing her helmet and walking toward the exit.

Naruto nodded and walked behind her, hearing her continue. "By the way, can you send a message to the admiral? I think you already know what to say."

The blonde woman looked back and saw the Jinchūriki creating a clone, which disappeared in a swirl distortion. "I will give you the admiral's answer as soon as my clone disappears."

"Excellent," Shepard said before looking at the ceiling. "How long until we arrive, Joker?"

"Five minutes, Commander."

Shepard looked to her right and saw Naruto standing beside her in front of the elevator. After the door opened, both entered together, and the blonde woman took the opportunity to ask, "You already said that you won't use your powers, but what would you do if you saw someone about to die?"

"Do you trust in your team's abilities?" the Uzumaki asked instead of answering.

"I trust the combat capabilities of all the members of my crew. However, these are high-risk missions, and luck is not always friendly," the blonde woman replied, pressing the button that would take them to the deck number two.

"If such is the case, I'm sorry to say that I won't be able to provide my help."

"I see. Then, aim well." The Commander added, handing her M-9 Tempest over to the blond man, who smiled and put it in the holster of his armor.

When the elevator door opened, Shepard tried to walk toward the communications room, but Naruto's hand on her shoulder stopped her.

She was going to ask him what he needed, but she couldn't because her body had become so heavy that she had fallen to her knees with her hands on the floor.

Kelly turned around and made a gesture of surprise when seeing the commander on her knees; she did nothing since she saw Naruto close to her.

"W-What are you doing?" the commander asked, grunting and gritting her teeth as she tried to stand up.

The Jinchūriki, with a serious look, bowed and answered, "I've realized that you had already become used to your weights. Therefore, I decided to increase them."

"You've g-got to be kidding me; there's no time to train. We're about to go on a mission of great importance." With a final grunt, she grabbed her helmet and stood up.

"You're right," the blond man added, also standing up. "But do you know what that means?"

The blonde woman turned her head toward him and wearily asked, "What?"

With a smile, the immortal man replied, "You'll need to put more effort into this mission."

"Ha-Ha," the Commander sarcastically laughed.

The Namikaze smiled slightly before turning serious. "You might think what I'm doing is illogical and even irresponsible. I don't like to put the life of any living being in danger, but I want to see you surpassing yourself, and the fastest way to achieve this will be if I put you in high-risk situations. Now, let's go and meet that guy who can beat you up."

The Commander snorted and walked forward with some difficulty. "Don't make me laugh; you're the only one who can do that."

The Uzumaki smiled and followed her, but they stopped as they saw Kelly approaching. "Commander, are you all right?" She asked this because she saw her sweating and panting, besides walking with difficulty.

Shepard replied, "Don't worry, Kelly. Nothing happened. Now, get ready for the mission. We may bump into a Collector ship, and if that is the case, I want the evacuation capsules to be ready for the worst-case scenario."

"Understood, Commander." Kelly nodded before transmitting this information to the rest of the crew.

The blondes looked at each other before walking to the communications room, the woman doing it with much difficulty.

"If you have trouble, I could ease the burden a little," Naruto offered.

"No, I can do it; don't worry." She tried to walk forward but again was unable as she felt Naruto's hand, this time, on the back of her armor.

She turned to him, and before she could tell him she really could do it, the blonde woman saw him changing his eyes to those purple eyes with rings patterns and heard him whispering a word whose meaning she didn't know. _"Shuradō (Asura Path)."_

Her armor flashed briefly, which surprised those who were at the CIC.

When the brightness stopped, the Commander felt no difference, and she strangely looked at her companion. "What did you do?"

"I improved your armor slightly. When you're in combat, just think 'up' and you'll notice something new. It will help you to increase your mobility and combat effectiveness a little bit. You won't see it right now because I decided that this improvement will only work when you're fighting."

Shepard couldn't deny that she was excited to find out what he had done. However, she decided to leave that aside and asked the following. "Any news from your clone?" She walked forward and the Shadow Clone followed behind her.

"Nothing yet. Let me see..." He closed his eyes and put his fingers to the side of his forehead.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the galaxy, a clone had appeared at the exact location of Admiral Hackett, specifically, in the captain's cabin of an Alliance battleship.

The admiral was there, feeding the bird that Naruto had created for him.

"Admiral," the clone spoke, approaching from behind.

"Oh, Naruto. It's the second time we met today. Did something happen?" He asked, turning around to look at the immortal man.

"Yes, I need your help," the clone replied with a serious expression.

"Go ahead; I will help if I can."

The blond man nodded and relayed the information that the Illusive Man had given them.

When he had finished with the story, Naruto saw him nodding. "Don't worry; we'll be there within five minutes, and we will save the colony," the admiral stated, standing firmly.

"I'm glad to hear that. By the way, take this..." He pulled out a paper from his pocket and handed it over. "That's the channel to communicate with the Normandy."

"Thank you, this will help a lot." As he kept the note, he saw Naruto kneeling down and placing his right hand on the floor.

He silently watched, hearing him whispering something before standing up. He didn't need to ask, as the blond man explained it. "I've changed one of the charges of the main cannon; it'll be able to disable the Collectors ship temporarily. Use it if they try to escape, so we can have time to save the colonists that are inside the ship."

"One charge?" He was intrigued to know how he was able to do something like that, but even if he explained it, the admiral was sure that he wouldn't understand it.

The clone nodded. "Indeed, just one. Specifically, the first shot that you'll make with this ship. I couldn't do more than that since I don't have the plans of the ship yet, and I don't want to make a modification that might overload the systems. However, you don't need to say it again; I already know what you told my clone."

"Very well. We'll be careful and use this charge at the right moment."

"I would recommend you not to do it until you see the Collector ship, and within the planet. Otherwise, destroy the ship."

"Are you sure? What if civilians are in there?" He knew the answer but wanted to know Naruto's reasoning.

"It'll be better if they die quickly and painlessly, rather than turning into puppets for the Reapers."

"And so it will. I have no doubt that you would be a good addition to N7; you have all the skills of one. Maybe I could make some arrangements to give you the title," the admiral offered.

"That won't be necessary, Admiral. By the way, I forgot to mention it; the Collectors have paralyzing seeker swarms. I think it's unnecessary to explain what they do with them. All I'll say is that you don't have to worry," he paused, took out a sealing scroll and charged some Chakra to it to reveal what was inside of it.

The contents resembled Mordin's countermeasure, the difference was that Naruto had created them just now. He could have used his Chakra to give immunity to everyone when they were in Horizon, but he didn't want to do that since he wasn't sure if the Collectors could know if he was using that energy; he preferred not to take the risk.

The admiral saw that his cabin had almost filled up with those syringes, but Naruto sealed them again in the scroll. "Distribute them among those who will participate in the mission. That will immunize them."

Hackett nodded and saw the immortal man creating at least twenty more of these scrolls before leaving them on the floor. "I think that'll be more than enough. To open them you only have to say 'open', and when the contents are out of them, the scrolls will burn, so be careful."

"I understand; I will deliver these items as soon as possible. My crew should be able to get them to the other ships that will join the mission."

The blond man nodded. "Perfect. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must withdraw." They said goodbye with a handshake, and the clone finally disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Once he was alone, Hackett activated his Omni-tool and spoke to it. "Turn around; we'll go back to Horizon, and send five people to my cabin."

"Understood, Admiral," the ship's pilot replied.

The older man turned off his Omni-tool and picked up as many of the scrolls as he could before walking to the communications room to request reinforcements to the base.

In the Normandy, Naruto opened his eyes just when both blondes were standing outside the door of the communications room.

"Well?" the blonde woman inquired when seeing him opening his eyes.

"They will meet with us; they'll let us know when they arrive," the clone replied.

"Okay, it's time to start the mission." They didn't say anything else and both entered the room.

* * *

 

**Notes:**

**Sorry for the delay, I'm currently doing my thesis for my college.**

**As you read it, Naruto is in love with Shepard. I believe the previous chapter made it clear. However, that doesn't mean that they'll be a couple right now.**

**Something is preventing Naruto from having a serious relationship, something that I don't want to reveal yet.**

**By the way, as Kurama said it, Naruto may have affairs with other women; all depends on how things develop.**

**Regarding Paragon Lost, I recommend to those who have still not seen it, to do it now. It's available on YouTube.**

**With regard to the events of the film, I decided to advance them. When I wrote this chapter, I had in mind to do it slowly and that the outcome would come after several chapters, but after doing the correction, I decided to develop events faster. It won't end in the next chapter, but it'll end faster.**

**The Illusive Man has decided to pull the strings, a very dangerous and crazy action, but let's see what happens. Oh, and as you've noticed; yes, Kai Leng will be part of the crew.**

**Oh, when Kai Leng said he doesn't like taking orders from someone with less level than his, surely many thought, and what about the Illusive Man? Well, he has a higher economic level. :P**

**The crew training may take a while, probably after the test on Earth. Before doing it, I want the team to be complete. Therefore, Thane, Tali, and Samara still have to join the crew. I don't see Samara and Tali doing the training. What do you say?**

**Oh, and I think when they are on Earth, Naruto will finally get his Omni-tool. He really doesn't need it, but he wants it.**

**Shepard already knows that Naruto kissed her, but Mendori made it clear that she won't allow her to continue making progress. Will the Commander listen to her or ignore her? Hmmm...**

**Now the Alliance and Cerberus are going to Horizon, will things work out?**

**Oh, and I've chosen Kaidan to be alive. While he's a boring character (in my opinion), he's at least more bearable than Ashley is; I can't stand her.**

**I won't talk about Mass Effect Andromeda since I haven't played it yet. All I will say is, Bioware, what were you thinking when you made Sara Ryder? She's awful.**

**Until the next chapter.**


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